Recommendations of federal authorities

The Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (BBK) and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) have revised their guidelines and recommended measures for planning, setting up and operating an emergency power supply in companies and public authorities to ensure the quality and operational readiness of the stored fuels. In order to ensure the permanent functioning of emergency power supply systems and to detect critical changes in fuel quality at an early stage, the guidelines now contain important information on regular quality control of the stored fuel stock. There are also stringent recommendations for fuel selection and installation of the fuel supply. In future, special attention should also be paid to the quality of the stored fuel when servicing and testing emergency power systems:

• Have the fuel quality checked at least once a year as a preventive measure so that you can identify changes and take action at an early stage.
• The quality of the fuel in the day tank is a critical factor and should be observed as a matter of priority.
• A sampling device must be installed at a suitable location on the day tank by a specialist company in accordance with water protection regulations and technical rules.

The following recommendations on fuel and installation help to avoid fuel-related malfunctions and malfunctions of the emergency power supply system:

• Use low-sulphur heating oil in accordance with DIN 516031, as this fuel must not contain any biodiesel.
• Condition the low-sulphur heating oil with an additive package specially designed for long-term storage and improvement of engine performance (increase in cetane number).
• Copper pipes have to be avoided, because of accelerated catalytic ageing of the fuel. It is recommended to use stainless steel and also aluminium.