Diesel generator sets · 60 Hz for the Philippines
Diesel Generator Sets from 20 kVA to 2000 kVA
Standby and prime power generator sets — single units and parallel systems — from 20 kVA to 2000 kVA, built for 60 Hz service at 220/440 V and supplied to projects across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Power ranges
What each power range is used for
| Rating | Typical duty | Usually configured as |
|---|---|---|
| 20–100 kVA | Barangay water pumps, sari-sari stores, telecom cabinets, small offices, island resorts | Single-phase or three-phase, open frame or small canopy |
| 100–300 kVA | Offices, hotels and resorts, clinics, cold storage, small factories | Three-phase canopy, optional automatic transfer switch |
| 300–800 kVA | Hospitals, BPO and data halls, production lines, mall and estate standby | Three-phase canopy or containerised, parallel-ready control |
| 800–2000 kVA | Data centres, cement and mining plants, PEZA locators, utility-scale standby | Containerised or open skid, multi-set parallel configuration |
Power range pages
Sizing starts with the power range. Each page carries the rating, the typical specification envelope for the class and the applications it suits.
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100 kVA diesel generator
80 kW. Barangay water systems, shops, telecom cabinets and borehole pumps.
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200 kVA diesel generator
160 kW. Hotels and resorts, clinics, supermarkets and small workshops.
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500 kVA diesel generator
400 kW. Hospitals, BPO facilities, cold storage and industrial prime power.
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1000 kVA diesel generator
800 kW. Data halls, manufacturing plants, ports and processing facilities.
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2000 kVA diesel generator
1600 kW. Campuses, utility duty and heavy industrial plants.
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All diesel generator sets
The full guide: ratings, form factors, voltage and frequency, and how to specify.
Why standby power matters here
Sixty hertz, island grids and a long typhoon season
The Philippines runs on a 60 Hz grid with 220/230 V single-phase and 440/460 V three-phase distribution, so a set built for 50 Hz markets cannot simply be dropped in. Power is supplied through the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao grids, with many islands served by their own small systems — and the country sits in the Western Pacific typhoon belt, with around twenty tropical cyclones a year and the multi-day outages that follow them.
Retail electricity in the Philippines is also among the most expensive in Southeast Asia, which changes the arithmetic on standby plant: a set that carries the critical load through an outage, and trims peak demand for the rest of the year, pays for itself differently than in a low-tariff market.
Form factors
Silent, containerised, trailer-mounted or open frame
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Silent canopy
Acoustic enclosure, typically 65–75 dB(A) at 7 m. The usual choice for hotels, hospitals, BPO offices and residential estates.
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Containerised
Set, tank and controls inside a 20 ft or 40 ft container. Suited to coastal and island sites where salt air, driving rain and service access all have to be handled together.
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Trailer-mounted
Mobile set on a road-towable chassis. Used for construction, events, disaster response and rental fleets.
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Open frame
No enclosure — lowest cost and smallest footprint where a plant room or acoustic treatment already exists.
Engines and alternators
Engine makes commonly specified in these power classes
Sets in the 20–2000 kVA band are normally built around industrial diesel engines from Cummins, Perkins, Volvo Penta, Weichai, Yuchai, Deutz, Kubota, Yanmar or Lovol, coupled to brushless alternators such as Stamford, Leroy-Somer or Marathon. Engine speed sets the frequency: 1500 rpm for 50 Hz, 1800 rpm for 60 Hz — Philippine projects take the 1800 rpm build.
Tell us which engine make your project specifies, or ask us to confirm what is available against the rating you need.
Specification
Four numbers decide the set you need
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1. Load and starting current
Add the running kW of everything that must operate at the same time, then check the largest motor: a direct-on-line motor draws roughly six to seven times its rated current for the first seconds.
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2. Prime or standby
Prime power for continuous variable duty, standby for mains failure only. The same machine carries a different rating for each, defined in ISO 8528-1.
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3. Voltage, frequency, phase
Philippine sites usually take 230 V single-phase or 440/460 V three-phase at 60 Hz. Confirm the service voltage your distribution utility supplies before the set is built.
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4. Site conditions
Ambient above 40 °C, coastal salt air, high humidity and typhoon exposure all reduce the usable rating, so they belong in the enquiry.
Standards and documents
What the ratings on a datasheet mean
| Standard | What it fixes |
|---|---|
| ISO 8528-1 | The duty ratings: emergency standby (ESP), prime (PRP), continuous (COP) and data centre (DCP). |
| ISO 3046 | Engine performance — power and fuel consumption, and how they are corrected for temperature, altitude and humidity. |
| IEC 60034 | The alternator: insulation class, temperature rise and voltage regulation. |
| ISO 8528-5 | Transient behaviour when load is switched on — how far and how long voltage and frequency dip. |
| Philippine Electrical Code | Installation rules for the set, its transfer switch and its earthing on site. |
Ask for the datasheet, type test report and wiring diagram for the exact rating you are specifying; those three documents are what most tender reviews ask for first. If the set will run in parallel with the utility, say so at enquiry stage — the interconnection requirements come from the distribution utility and are easier to design in than to retrofit.
Questions
Common questions
How many kW is a 500 kVA generator?
At the standard 0.8 power factor, 500 kVA equals 400 kW. A 500 kVA set at 440 V three-phase delivers about 656 A per phase. If the load runs at a lower power factor, the usable kW falls while the kVA rating stays the same.
Can I use a 50 Hz generator in the Philippines?
No. The Philippine grid runs at 60 Hz, and frequency follows engine speed — 1500 rpm gives 50 Hz, 1800 rpm gives 60 Hz. A 50 Hz set needs a different engine setting and in most cases a different alternator, so order the 60 Hz build.
What is the difference between prime power and standby power?
Under ISO 8528-1, prime power (PRP) covers continuous variable load with a 10% overload permitted for one hour in every twelve. Emergency standby power (ESP) is limited to around 500 hours a year and may not be run overloaded; it is quoted higher than the prime rating of the same machine.
What information do you need to size a set?
A load list with running kW and starting current, the largest motor that starts direct-on-line, the autonomy you want (for example eight hours at 75% load), the ambient temperature of the site, and whether the set must be silent, containerised or mobile.
How long can a generator set run on its own tank?
Autonomy is a tank size question rather than a generator question. Base tanks normally cover eight to ten hours at full load; longer autonomy is met with a separate bunded tank or a containerised set with an internal tank.
How is a set delivered to an island site?
Sets up to a few hundred kVA normally travel by container to Manila, Cebu or Davao and then onward by ro-ro or barge. Tell us the final site early: the shipping route decides how the set is split down, how it is packed against salt air, and whether a crane is available at the receiving end.
Send us your load list
Tell us the running kW, the starting current, the voltage and the frequency. We will reply with the rating and the build options that fit.