standards and guidelines for communication sites - Radio And ...

STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR COMMUNICATION SITES STANDBY GENERATOR SYSTEMS
• Circuit conductors, including jumpers between several cells, shall be jacketed copper of at least the
minimum AWG size permitted for the maximum DC load. Conductor size may need to be larger
than that specified to minimize voltage drop between the batteries and the equipment.
• In the U.S., DC conductor jacket colors shall be red (floating or ungrounded) and black (grounded).
Red and black tape may be applied at each connection, splice or pull box if red and black
conductors are not available. These requirements may vary by vendor product and international
location.
• Conductors shall be enclosed in PVC or metallic conduit or raceway for protection from physical
damage and shall not be exposed except near terminations.
• Any additional disconnect switches shall have an ampacity rating equal to or greater than the
circuit protection device.
• Battery terminals shall be protectively coated in accordance with manufacturer's specifications.
• Exposed battery terminals should be protected from accidentally contacting metal objects.
• Stationary lead acid batteries shall be equipped with an approved spill containment system to
prevent damage caused by spilled battery electrolyte whenever electrolyte capacity is greater than
4.8 liters (1 gallon). NFPA 70-2005, Article 480, BOCA 307.8.13, Universal Building Code Article
304.8. The spill containment system shall comprise a passive and active neutralization system.
6.7.10 BATTERY MAINTENANCE DISCONNECT
At some time it will be necessary to perform off-line maintenance on the batteries. An individual
disconnect shall be supplied for each string of batteries for isolating a string from the rest of the system
to safely perform battery maintenance. The disconnect device shall be such as to prevent arcing upon
circuit make/break, and prevent any exposed live conductors.
Ensure that the DC supplied by the rectifier is electrically clean enough to supply equipment without the
filtering characteristics of the batteries attached. Equipment damage could result if rectifier output has
to much ripple.
6.8 STANDBY GENERATOR SYSTEMS
NOTE: The expected need of having a site supplied with a standby generator should be balanced against the
economy of including a generator at the site. It is most likely cost-prohibitive to provide standby
generators for large systems utilizing many sites. Typically, only difficult to access or remote location
sites are equipped with standby generator power. An “Appleton”-type power connector can be installed
at sites not equipped with a generator. In these cases, a portable generator can be conveniently
connected to the site if needed.
68P81089E50-B 9/1/05 6-35