HiPower Systems Generator Docking Stations

GDSs Series Input Panels, can help you connect your mobile generator in a quick and safe way using Standard Camlok devices.

One of the biggest stories in power distribution is a specialized power distribution box―what we at HIPOWER SYSTEMS call a generator docking station (GDS)―that is specifically designed to be connected quickly and easily to a portable (mobile; roll-up) generator. (Note that there is no industry standard name for these devices, so we will refer to them as GDSs.)

The boxes themselves are not mobile. Rather, they are stationary power distribution units hardwired into a facility’s power supply infrastructure. They offer the ultimate protection for operations where power is truly mission-critical―where the facility cannot be without power for even a few seconds, no matter what. These units enable companies to quickly and easily bring in replacements for backup generators so they can be taken down for service or maintenance, or to act as a “backup for the backup” in the event of a power outage. Since their introduction to the market, many companies are finding other, valuable uses for GDSs that go beyond the most mission-critical operations.

Unlike transfer switches, which generally connect a permanent, external standby generator to a facility’s power connection for quick switching to generator power, a GDS is mounted on the building (or placed on a nearby pad) to create a “quick connect” link between the transfer switch or other disconnect and a mobile generator. If a facility wants or needs to obtain additional power for any reason, having a previously installed, externally mounted GDS enables them to connect a portable generator, located in a nearby alley or other external location, to the building’s disconnect via simple cam-style connections. Some of these units also can incorporate male or female cam-style connections, enabling either input of power to service the building or output of power for other uses.

The applications for units such as these are numerous, including:
-Plants required to maintain continuous backup power who need to service or repair a backup generator;
-Data centers concerned about the possibility of having their backup generator fail or be offline for service during a power outage that outlasts their UPS (uninterruptible power supply).
-Hospitals and other facilities that maintain backup generators on a roof or in a basement, and for which laying hundreds of feet of cabling to connect an external generator would not be practical or wise.
-Companies such as gas stations and convenience stores that in the event of a power outage wish to share one portable generator between multiple locations (for example, to pump all the gas from one store, then move on to the next).
-Any facility that wants to the ability to use a portable generator without the delay of scheduling an electrician (assuming one is available) to hardware the generator to traditional switching gear.
-Our research indicates that more than 90% of all new commercial and industrial buildings are being constructed with GDSs. Now, given the increasing frequency of power disruptions from grid fluctuations and extreme weather events, many companies with existing facilities are installing them as a failsafe, as well.