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Testing power sources, such as uninterruptable power sources (UPS) and diesel generators, ensure that these devices will provide the required amount of power when needed. A load bank tests these power sources by developing an electrical load. Various load configurations permit testing under different conditions.

A load bank is a self-contained device that has the load elements, controls and cooling systems it needs to operate built-in. Power is delivered to a load bank, which then consumes the electrical power by applying it to a power source and either converting or dissipating the source's power output. Load banks use the energy produced to protect, support or test a power source while a "real" load or actual building load uses energy output productively.

What Is the Purpose of a Load Bank?

Load banks ensure the quality and reliability of your emergency power sources. They verify the accuracy of the generators' output capacities by creating a variety of different loads that replicate real-world use.

If you own, sell or operate generators, especially for backup power, you need to test them regularly. Without testing, you cannot be assured the generator will provide the required power when the lights go out. Many facilities require load tests of all backup power sources. Prime power generators benefit from load bank use, particularly in lightly loaded situations.

What Does a Load Bank Do?

A load bank develops an electrical load. Load banks are absolutely essential for emergency sources of power, as they verify the power source's rated output capabilities before the power source is called into actual use. A load bank should mimic the real load a power source would see during an actual use scenario. The devices usually have different levels of load, which allows critical systems to be tested under a variety of conditions.

Who Uses Load Banks?

You need this type of testing bank if you have generators or uninterruptable power sources in your business. Best practices for testing emergency power sources is regular load bank tests.

If you have diesel generators on-site, you may use a load bank to augment lightly loaded situations and keep your generator running properly. Wet stacking occurs when unburned fuel remains inside the system. The unburned diesel condenses and combines with soot in the exhaust system, leading to wet deposits on exhaust components. Left unchecked, wet stacking reduces engine efficiency until it requires a complete overhaul to restore its former power.

The best way to prevent this from occurring is to test the generator with a load bank, which enables you to complete two maintenance tasks with one action. Monthly testing is a requirement from the National Fire Prevention Association, in its Standard for Emergency and Standby Power Systems. You must test the generator at full load to maintain the minimum exhaust temperature recommended by the manufacturer. An alternative test allows you to use 30% more than the rating on the generator's nameplate for at least half an hour.

A novel use for these banks is for renewable energy sources. The Hawai'i Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) has incorporated a load bank into the power system on the island of Moloka'i. The island could not add more photovoltaic cells because it posed the threat of producing too much electricity and dropping the power produced by the island's diesel generators too low. The addition of a resistive load bank allows the island to add more solar cells because the load bank moderates the amount of power the island gets by absorbing any extra electricity produced.

Load banks come in many different forms based on the load they apply to the power sources they test. Resistive and reactive load banks are two primary forms. Each of these has its benefits for specific situations. Understand the differences between resistive and reactive load banks to find the best options for running tests on your power sources.

Resistive vs. Reactive Load Banks

Depending on your generators and how you use them, you may need resistive, reactive or both types of load banks. These devices put different kinds of loads on the generators. Resistive models are the most common, while reactive include inductive and capacitive power loads.

1. Resistive Load Bank Uses

Resistive load banks draw power from a generator in the same way lights or appliances would. These testing devices work well with generators used for general power purposes that involve transforming electricity into heat or light. Light bulbs, lamps and space heaters are examples of tools that convert electrical energy into heat.

These types of load banks draw a specified real power load, in kW, on the generator to ensure the operation of the power supply's cooling system, exhaust and engine operation. They do not test the generator for full apparent power in kVA, which is what a reactive load bank tests.

2. Reactive Load Bank Uses

Reactive load banks can simulate inductive loads, often used commercially in construction or in backup power supplies. Inductive loads create a lagging power factor, whereas capacitive loads generate a leading power factor. Of these two types, inductive appears more commonly in objects that turn power into motor operation through magnetism.

For facilities that rely on emergency generators to run equipment for business-critical operations or life support, such as data centers and hospitals, reactive load bank testing is the most effective.

Resistor load banks convert all of the applied electrical energy into heat. Larger kW load banks typically have an integrated blower for cooling. Some load bank designs, such as Duct Mounted, do not have their own cooling system but rather rely on cooling airflow from other sources such as an engine radiator.

Self-contained resistive load banks are commonly found up to 3,000 kW. For full kW load testing, make sure to choose a load bank with a capacity equal to or greater than the power source at the rated output voltage.

How Do Reactive Load Banks Work?

Reactive load banks test the full apparent load in kVA of the power source. Though not as commonly used as resistive load banks, reactive models are part of the testing requirements set out by NFPA 110 for nonunity power factor equipment field or factory acceptance testing.

Unlike resistive loads that generate a power factor of 1.0 and a load of 100%, reactive has a 0.8 power factor with a 75% load. This difference in power factors and loads leads to voltage drops from the generator of 25% more than from the resistive loads. In this way, reactive load banks test for systems that have a sensitivity to voltage dips.

Advantages of Resistive Load Testing

Resistive load testing is very common as it is the most cost-effective way to test a power source. For generators, this method checks the ability of the generator to respond at a full load. With the generator producing full power, you can assess the capability of the mechanism's fuel and cooling systems to operate under the effort.

Resistive load banks also prevent diesel generators from losing efficiency through wet stacking, which happens when unburned fuel clogs up the exhaust system. By putting a higher load on the generator than it typically experiences, a load bank encourages the engine to burn more fuel, reducing the chances of wet stacking.

If the condition has already set in, using a resistive load test at full power can reduce the effects by burning excessive moisture in the engine.

Another benefit of using resistive load banks is they allow the generator to exercise its exhaust system to reach high enough temperatures to properly treat the fumes flowing through it and operate at its peak.

Additionally, resistive load banks can be used to supplement the actual load on a generator to optimize its performance. Often you will find generators operating at 50% loads or lower, which can lead to wet stacking. Resistive load banks with Auto Load Leveling Controls can automatically add and subtract kW to help maintain a minimum load.

Reactive load testing offers some additional benefits that resistive testing cannot and can warrant the extra expense for certain applications.

Advantages of Reactive Load Testing

Reactive load testing more closely replicates the type of load a generator will experience during typical use in kVA and kVAR. It helps evaluates not only transient loads, but also load sharing and alternator capacity.

When doing testing with a reactive load on systems in parallel, you can look for hot spots using an infrared examination of the electrical system. You can also use the load conditions to assess the electrical connections, cables, bus work and other components.

Depending on your equipment, you may need both reactive and resistive load testing. If this is the case, we have models that can fulfill both needs. Should you need a unit with the capabilities of both resistive and reactive testing in a single model, we have a solution for you. These load banks have high capacities up to 1,875 kVA and load up to 1,500 kW. Resistive-reactive models do the job of two load banks in one powerful unit.

An inductive load bank is normally used in conjunction with a resistive unit to provide a lagging power factor load test. This provides the capability to test the generator set fully at 100% nameplate kVA rating. Inductive load banks add inductance to the load and therefore reduce the PF to less than unity (typically 0.8pf on diesel gen-set). Inductive load banks are rated in kilovolt-amperes reactive (kVAr).

A load bank is a device that generates a prescribed amount of electricity draw to test the reliability of electrical switching, generator output, uninterruptable power supply (UPS) systems and cooling in a data center.

Rack-mount server-simulating load banks discharge heat while consuming power to accurately mimic the load of a server processing a workload. Data centers test cooling and power supply operation with load banks rather than software simulations for more real-world accuracy, such as air-flow blockage in the rack caused by the server-sized load bank, or dust in the air from improper filtration. Avtron, ComRent and Mosebach are server simulator load bank manufacturers.

A load bank test simulates real operation by applying the load in situ, with real temperatures and relative humidity, but it is not an exact reproduction. The load bank only draws power (current and voltage) to test the infrastructure, and then dissipates it safely as heat.

Load banks are either portable or fixed. Fixed load banks suit outdoor use, while portable load banks can move around the data center and between sites to test specific power setups.

Load banks cannot mimic the random peaks and lulls of real data center equipment power usage, but they can approximate the equipment's requirements in a controlled setting with high levels of accuracy.

Load testing should be included on UPS maintenance schedules. Capacitive load banks, or capacitor banks, commonly test UPS and other electronic loads by creating a leading power factor. Some power supply vendors, such as Emerson Network Power and Power Systems Specialists, offer load bank testing as a service.

Inductive load banks, by contrast, create a lagging power factor. The third common load bank type is resistive, with a lagging power factor. Resistive load banks, used frequently for industrial purposes, provide equivalent loading on the generator, and are usually portable.

Look for headbands in darker colors and more sophisticated prints ( likes leopard or snakeskin).

Interesting textures can be quite sophisticated too.

Thinner, finer plastic headbands tend to look chic as they are more subtle.

Vintage headbands with a twist knot are trending and can be a playful fashion statement.

A casual headband ( typically a brighter color) usually says “preppy.” Make sure your outfit is also casual to work with this look.

Anything with a traditional bow is very tricky and in most cases are not age-appropriate

Scarves tied as headbands are an excellent way to keep your hair back and will give you a boho-chic vibe

Avoid any kind of headband that looks like something you’d see a 7-year-old wearing

I'm glad you brought this up since headbands have been so popular lately. They can certainly be a good thing to wear when transitioning from one style to another. A headband is great for accentuating bangs. It can flaunt a pixie cut, or show off longer locks quite nicely too. A headband can even become part of your signature style.

The problem with wearing a headband after 40 is you can come across looking too girly and juvenile. Up until now, there hasn’t been a wide variety of headband styles, and the majority of headbands out there were sweet and childlike. Now that's changed.

I think headbands can be fine at any age, but as a mature woman, I'd steer clear of headbands with flowers, floppy bows, and sparkly little girl styles. Think classy, less cutesy when choosing a headband. This fine resin headband is more elegant.

What 2021 hair trends should you know about? Despite the rollercoaster of a year that 2020 was, there's no denying that it was certainly memorable. And while a lot of those memories might have been made at home, that doesn't mean there weren't any good times. Still, 2021 is on track to be much better than the previous year, and that means there are new and exciting trends to look forward to.

Sure, you might have lived in the same pair of sweatpants for a while, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun with your hair and makeup. Try a new smokey eye for that Zoom meeting, or just go for it and trim your hair for a wild and crazy Friday night!

Despite the fact that no one knows exactly what 2021 will hold, there will certainly be some hair trends you should know about in the coming year. After all, if you are stuck at home more, why not learn new styles and looks to rock once you finally get to leave the house?

If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that high-maintenance hairstyles and colors are so not worth it. Sure, you could style your hair every day, but what's the point? If you aren't naturally gifted at twisting your hair into fancy and complicated styles, then why force yourself to?

That's one reason many people will be leaning towards a more natural, easy to maintain hair color for 2021, says colorist Richy Kandasamy. "For a lot of clients, this has been a positive reset and they want to embrace their natural hair color or stay as close to their natural color as possible," they told Harper's Bazaar.

In the same vein, natural styles and trends will be all the rage as well, as noted by Oribe Principal Educator of Content and Training Kien Hoang. "I'm predicting that spring 2021 will go towards a '90s feel with more lived-in looks," they shared. So, if you don't like trying to pull off the latest hair trends, 2021 might just be your year because natural and lived-in looks will be huge.

Scrunchies are back in a big way and I'm loving it. Not only because it takes me back to my childhood (dating myself here), but because scrunchies are really good for your hair! So let's talk scrunchies today. Some of the benefits and then I'll show you some of my favorite new scrunchies I've been wearing lately.

1. Scrunchies Are Good for Your Hair.

They won't cause breakage.

The layer of fabric around the elastic band means that your hair won’t get tangled and knotted with a scrunchie. I have used good hair ties and no matter what they always pull my hair out. The same goes for my daughter. Trying to take a hair tie out of a 2 year old’s hair is not easy and the hair ties always have hair stuck to it when I remove them. A scrunchie won't do that.

The fabric should be soft and it will glide over the strands and not pull and tug.

They won't leave kinks.

My hair ties always leave kinks in my hair. Especially because I sleep with them on. I wake up every day with a kink and a strange wave in my hair. Scrunchies won't do that.

They are so soft and gentle on your hair strands and they shouldn't leave deep kinks in your hair that are difficult to get out the next day.

2. Scrunchies are Fashionable and Stylish.

Scrunchies are a true accessory. With all the fun patterns and fabrics, you can change up your look so easily by switching them out. I love all the different patterns and textures that are available now.

They make a statement and depending on the pattern you choose can really dress up an outfit! Just like handbags and shoes they can really add to a look.

3. Scrunchies Are So Much Prettier Than A Hair Tie.

A hair tie just isn't very noticeable and blends in with your hair. Scrunchies makes a statement… AND wearing them on your wrist is like wearing a bracelet because they are so pretty!!

I don't know about you, but I am the worst about leaving a black hair band on my wrist. I'm shocked I made it down the aisle without it on my wrist!! The scrunchie will look pretty on your wrist and it won’t leave an indentation!

If you’re thinking a few weeks ahead about what you’ll wear to the numerous holiday parties that you have pending invitations to, don’t forget to include a festive hair accessory to complete the look. Most other months in the year don’t call for sparkly berets and bedazzled headbands, but November through December is your opportunity to pull out all the stops with preppy glam holiday looks. Even if preppy is not your style, there is a holiday hair accessory to match every aesthetic — opt for a sleek bucket hat instead or even a subtle hair pin that’s nearly undetectable, but still adds a bit of shine to your look.

Below, see 10 holiday hair accessories that guarantee you’ll be the hottie at every holiday party — or just around the family dinner table.

We all love our hair, don't we? It's what gives us character. You might be the type of person who spends hours upon hours each week taking good care of your precious tresses with all the right conditioners and serums, so why spoil all your hard work with the wrong accessories? Indeed, there are many things we should banish from our hair routine. Some may even surprise you.

Taking care of your hair is not a simple task, of course, and using accessories will make things just a little bit easier. However, habits such as using a rough towel to rub at your hair and scalp as soon as you get out of the shower is a bad way to start with proper haircare. Reduce the damage done! Discover 10 accessories you need to banish from your life if you want to have beautiful hair!

Straw hats, in particular, should be avoided, as your hair can get caught in between the gaps in the material and you may suffer from hair loss due to this. In general, hats can make your scalp accumulate grease faster as it prevents sufficient airflow and breathability.

Clothing with embellishments such as sequins will create friction when your hair is let down and loose. This can promote the appearance of split-ends. Be careful of ornamentation such as pearls, glitter, and coarse fabrics. Your hair may cling to these.

Pay close attention to the quality of the hairpins you use. To make sure they don't end up damaging your hair, ensure that they have a plastic end cap and that they are protected by a film so they don't end up tugging and clamping on your strands. If this is the case, you should throw them away and find better ones.

Bristles made of plastic can irritate your scalp and cause unwanted static. Swap them out with ones that have bristles made of natural materials such as wild boar hair.

I believe I was destined to become a Podiatrist from a young age, because one of my favourite days of the summer holidays would be when Mum would take my brother, sister and I school shoe shopping! Having gone to a primary school where we wore black leather school shoes four days a week, it was important that we were 100% satisfied with the comfort and fit before purchasing.

Personally, I think there are many advantages to a uniform policy that requires wearing school shoes. I like the idea of all students looking the same, and not feeling embarrassed that they don't have the latest sports shoe. A simple black or brown school shoe puts all children on an equal playing field and prepares primary school aged children for the likely high school regulations and then even into working life.

School shoes can be regularly maintained for extra life, such as using a polish to reduce scuffs, replacing frayed laces, having a Cobbler repair soles and even replacing the sock liner. Allowing your child to participate in regular polishing and caring for school shoes fosters a sense of responsibility for their own property and promotes sustainability.

School shoes are often made with a variety of fasteners such as laces, Velcro or buckles. This creates options for children of varying ages and abilities to independently apply their own footwear. Children can progress through fastener options as their fine motor skills improve over time.

Appropriate school shoes can also help protect children's feet from the elements, a covered in leather shoe is protective against the cold and rain, a solid grip on wet ground and a quality leather allows breathability on a hot day. A thick sturdy sole protects our kids' feet should they step on something sharp and covered in style reduces the risk of foreign objects such as gravel or tanbark ending up inside the shoe.

The benefits of quality school shoes are endless, but in my opinion the dominating factor is how comfort can improve mood, concentration and ability to learn in the classroom.

Researching which school shoes to buy can leave parents feeling like they're failing at comprehension. Why are some so expensive? Are the cheaper ones OK? Buckles, Velcro or laces? And why-in-the-name-of-all-that's-holy do my kids wear them out so quickly?

It's an annual dilemma for parents of school-aged children (and sometimes a biannual dilemma if they have a growth spurt) – and it can be a costly decision to get wrong.

The bones in young children's feet don't fuse together until puberty. This means their feet can lack muscle strength and be prone to hypermobility, which is why they need firm, supportive shoes to help protect them while they're growing.

"A good school shoe provides a stable home for immature bones," says Charlotte Bodell, a podiatrist and spokesperson for the Australian Podiatry Association.

"Without that support, children are in danger of developing flat feet, sore knees, shin splints and even back pain. A good shoe that fits properly is important."

Bodell adds that good footwear alone isn't enough. "It's also important for children to carry out regular daily exercise to keep their feet and lower limbs strong and healthy," she says.

Size check

Kids' feet grow quickly and can change shape as well as size. Experts recommend doing a size check at these intervals:

• One to three months up to the age of three years.

• Every four months up to the age of five.

• Every six months until your child stops growing completely.

How to measure your child's feet at home

Whether you're minimising shopping trips because of COVID-19, or you can't get to a shoe store, there are ways to measure your child's feet at home so you know which size to choose.

Clarks sells an at-home foot gauge, which you can use to measure the length and width of your child's feet, and to calculate the right shoe size.

Williams offers an online measure and fit service called Strutfit. This guides you through the process of taking pictures of your child's feet to be uploaded and analysed. It will then recommend a size.

DIY foot measurements

Alternatively, you can follow this general step-by-step guide to measuring your child's foot, then use those measurements to find the right size shoe for whichever brand you're interested in. (Most stores will have a size guide on their website.)

Until recent times, footwear made for children generally mimicked the idiosyncratic styles of the adults of their time and place (taking into account the special characteristics of the feet of infants and young children). It was not until the twentieth century that footwear highly divergent from the dominant adult prototype evolved specifically for children. However, in premodern times there were some circumstances concerning children's footwear that are of historical interest.

Ancient Greece

In ancient Greece, sandals and slipper-like shoes predominated for both children and adults. Boys were "sandaled" around the age of seven when they first left their homes for school, a rite of passage similar to a boy's receiving his first pair of breeches in later eras. Young girls making their first departure from home, which took place with the girl's marriage shortly after reaching biological adulthood, also went to the shoemaker's for their first pair of sandals. A survey of Tanagra terra-cotta figures from the first half of the third century B.C.E. suggests that young children, perhaps specifically girls, wore slippers before their official departure from family life. There is much debate surrounding the question when and if children in ancient times were shod.

Nineteenth Century

Baby Booties

In the nineteenth century as the making of shoes became more systematic, particularly in New England, evidence emerges of the development of particular styles of shoes for children. The Reverend Richard Manning Chipman noted, for example, that "cack" was a specific term developed in Massachusetts around the year 1820 for a baby's soft leather-soled heelless shoe. On the other hand, the Oxford English Dictionary discloses that the word "bootee" or "bootie" did not occur in popular English usage as a description of infant's shoes until its appearance in a Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog in 1929.

Throughout the nineteenth century, periodicals encouraged women to try their hands at creating shoes for their young children. Patterns appeared in Godey's Ladies' Book (1830-1898), and Peterson's Magazine (begun 1842). In the anonymously written The Workwoman's Guide (1838), the author gives patterns and sewing directions for baby's first and second pair of shoes, as well as a pair made of ticking material (A Lady, pp. 173, 174). One hundred and fifty years after Monsieur Rousseau encouraged the possibility of childlike-children, footwear began to be developed specifically for them, albeit in the form of variations on already existing adult shoes. In 1890, George Warren Brown opened the Brown Shoe Company in St. Louis, Missouri, but it was not until the 1904 World's Fair that his variation on the Oxford tie for boys came into its own. In that year a young executive from Brown's company met artist Richard F. Outcault and the "Buster Brown" shoe was born. Of equal importance is Buster's sister "Mary Jane" who gave her name to the ubiquitous girl's low-strapped shoes.

White sneakers are definitely a must-have in every girl's wardrobe because it's extremely versatile and can match with almost any kind of outfit.

Plus, sneakers are just so comfortable and if high heels are not your kind of thing, it won't hurt to perhaps have more than one pair of white shoes in your collection!

While white sneakers are a dime a dozen, here are some classic ones that every girl must own.

When little boys get into their first superhero costume, magic occurs. They know they have super powers. They think they can fly, bend steel and outrun the wind. A few years later, when it dawns on boys that maybe their Batman capes don’t give them these powers, they seek out something else. Sneakers.

A boy's love affair with his “kicks” is intense. If you’ve ever seen a boy lace up his new sneakers (that word moms usually use) and run around the shoe store, you know what I mean. In the right pair, boys believe they will jump higher and run faster. You can see it in the gleam in their eyes—they are invincible.

But there's nothing new about shoes being a big deal for boys. From Vans to PF Flyers to Chuck Taylors (“Chucks”), shoes matter. The love of kicks is deep. And for this generation of boys, it's basketball shoes.

The first Air Jordans came onto the market in 1985, right after Michael Jordan first laced up those black-and-red shoes to match the colors of the Chicago Bulls. David Stern, the NBA commissioner at the time, fined Jordan five thousand dollars each time he stepped out on the court because his shoes didn’t have enough white on them. There was nothing David Stern could have done to make Michael Jordan or his shoes look cooler. Jordan was breaking the rules and he looked good doing it.

But why else are shoes such a big deal for boys?

Shoes are the fashion choice that all boys can participate in without being teased. When you go with your son to a store like Foot Locker and the salesperson in that black-and-white striped shirt comes over to your son, what does he ask? Does he ask what size shoe your son wears? No. The smart ones say, “Hey, man, what are your colors?” What other article of clothing could that happen with? Where else could that question be asked without drawing embarrassment from your kid?

The last time I went with my sons, I had a hard time holding back my laughter as I listened to their intense discussion with the salesman. I watched them wander in front of the wall of shoes, saw their intense gaze and subsequent handling of the shoes while they each stared off visualizing their future greatness on the basketball court. The entire thing was completely ridiculous—a fact that I kept to myself.

What isn’t ridiculous and what parents need to be very aware of, is that shoes are a huge indicator among boys about status and money. The shoes boys most covet are heavily marketed to them and extremely expensive. (Nike Kobes are about $170 and LeBrons can go up to $250.) If parents are willing to pay for them, that says a lot about how they’re buying into the marketing campaigns that are targeting our boys and, by extension, our wallets.

Also keep in mind that boys often have judgments about who has the right to wear these shoes. As in, if you wear them but you can’t hold your own athletically, boys are going to make fun of you to your face or ridicule you behind your back.

I am writing about this to suggest that when your son is begging for new shoes and spends hours looking at his various options online, don’t make fun of him or belittle his apparent superficiality. Instead, see this an opportunity to talk about financial responsibility and perception of his image. Tell him how much you are willing to spend. If he still insists that he has to get expensive shoes, tell him he has to use his savings or work to pay for the rest. Then ask him how he thinks his life will be better if he has the shoes he covets and really listen to his answers, because he is giving you a window into his world.