Generator selection starts with the equipment being powered, not a guess at a generator size. A clear load brief helps the supplier and qualified electrical team evaluate the demand and propose the right package. It also makes cables, distribution and fuel assumptions visible in the quote.
Build the equipment list
List each load with the manufacturer's electrical information, how often it runs and whether it operates at the same time as other equipment. Identify motors and other loads with starting characteristics the supplier needs to assess.
Where information is missing, label it as unknown rather than inventing a value. Send photographs of equipment plates to the responsible electrical team. The hire enquiry should gather evidence, not turn an estimated total into an electrical design.
Explain the operating pattern
Describe normal running, start-up sequence, shift hours and any periods with low demand. Ask the supplier how the proposed generator suits that pattern. A package intended for intermittent tools may differ from one supporting a continuous process.
State whether an interruption would stop the entire project or only one activity. If continuity matters, ask for a separate discussion of backup and changeover arrangements with qualified people. A second machine on a fleet list is not a continuity plan.
Example: adding a pump mid-hire
A generator originally powers site facilities, then the project proposes an additional pump. Before adding it, provide the pump data and operating sequence to the supplier and electrical team. Reassess the full package instead of assuming unused sockets mean available capacity.
The revised offer may change distribution, cabling, fuel or servicing requirements as well as generator size. Keep those changes together in the order so the delivery team is not working from the original incomplete equipment list.
Price the whole package
Ask for separate confirmation of distribution equipment, cables, installation responsibilities, fuel arrangements and service access. Provide the proposed location and any site constraints relating to noise, exhaust, deliveries or operating hours.
Have the qualified electrical team confirm connection, protection and installation requirements. Record who responds to faults and who can authorise changes. This guide supports the enquiry; it does not provide generator sizing or wiring instructions.
Common questions
Can I add all nameplate values to choose a generator?
Give the data to the supplier and qualified electrical team. Starting characteristics, operating patterns and the complete installation must be assessed.
Does generator hire include cables?
Only where the offer says so. Ask for distribution, cables, installation and fuel arrangements to be stated explicitly.
This guide is general information to help you prepare a better enquiry. It is not engineering, legal or safety advice. Equipment selection, engineering and safe systems of work remain the responsibility of competent project and supplier teams, and regulatory requirements differ between states and sites.
