John Stark, Russelectric, A Siemens Business, looks at building smarter emergency power infrastructure in modern healthcare facilities.
Russelectric
Reliable emergency power systems have long been mandatory in hospitals, but the past decade has reshaped how healthcare organisations design, test, and manage these systems. Growing resiliency expectations, the expansion of multi-site care networks, and highly power-dependent medical technologies are driving a shift toward more sophisticated emergency power control systems (PCS’s). Today’s PCS’s must support not only life safety but also digital infrastructure, imaging, diagnostics, and surgical environments, setting a new operational standard for modern healthcare.
From basic backup to intelligent resiliency
Traditional PCS’s focused primarily on quick restoration and regulatory compliance. Today, hospitals expect deeper intelligence and more actionable data. Modern monitoring platforms capture detailed pre-event, event, and post-event information, improving both predictive maintenance and documentation accuracy.
Automation is increasingly essential. Features such as automatic start signals, integrated controls, and real-time dashboards reduce manual intervention and support more consistent emergency response. Manufacturers in the controls and switching sector, including Russelectric, have developed software that automatically initiates event logging the moment a generator starts or closes onto the emergency bus (that software is also monitoring the system at all times, 24/7. We need to make that clear) . This capability is especially valuable as hospitals navigate staffing shortages and rising documentation workloads.
The industry is also seeing significant variation in the age and performance of installed PCS assets. Many hospitals continue to operate with older transfer switches (ATS’s) that lack modern coordination or have limited fault withstand ratings. These legacy systems complicate expansion projects and may fall short of today’s operational expectations. Modern engineered ATS solutions, such as Russelectric’s RTS-30 Series, which have a withstand and closing rating of 30 electrical cycles in duration, help eliminate these vulnerabilities and support more resilient system design.
Emergency power extends beyond the main campus
Healthcare delivery has decentralised. Networks increasingly operate dozens or hundreds of outpatient locations such as ambulatory surgery centres, imaging suites, and specialty care facilities. Many of these sites once relied entirely on utility service or undersized standby generators. Today, expectations have changed: patients assume uninterrupted power wherever care is delivered.
This expansion has real operational implications. Off-campus facilities often require generator sets paired with ATS solutions that mirror the reliability and selectivity of main-campus infrastructure. To manage this distributed footprint, health systems are standardising equipment specifications and integrating outpatient sites into centralised reporting platforms. These efforts simplify maintenance planning, improve system visibility, and reduce variations between facilities.
Transfer switch technology keeps pace with new demands
Automatic transfer switches remain the heart of every PCS. Their performance influences transfer timing, selective coordination, and system stability, making equipment selection critical for patient safety.
In the last 35 years, electrical code cycles have emphasised selective coordination in legally required standby systems. This requirement ostensibly opens only the nearest upstream protective device during a fault, preserving power to all unaffected circuits. Manufacturers responded by engineering ATS solutions with stronger withstand and closing ratings. In the possible event that this does not happen, due to malfunction or tampering with trip units, the ATS should be built to withstand and close on the maximum fault current availability, which is typically 30 Russelectric’s RTS-30 Series exemplifies this shift. The switches are UL-1008 tested, listed, and labeled for both 30-cycle and 3-cycle applications. These high-performance ratings support robust coordination schemes in hospitals and other mission-critical settings.
Although budget constraints sometimes force facilities to upgrade ATS units in stages, using switches engineered for selective coordination requirements protects essential circuits and reduces regulatory risk.
In parallel, modern ATS control interfaces provide deeper visibility into load behaviour, transfer timing, and normal/emergency source verification—giving operators the insight needed to confirm that each transition performs as expected.
Integrating UPS and controls for seamless operation
While ATS units and generators supply the backbone of emergency power, many hospital departments, including imaging, IT, and lab environments, depend on uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems to eliminate even millisecond-level interruptions which can happen during the transfer switching function.
Manufacturers in the switching and controls space increasingly design power control systems to integrate smoothly with UPS, BMS, and SCADA platforms. Coordinated sequencing logic and unified communication protocols support “no-break” transitions, helping digital and diagnostic
equipment remain stable throughout a brief outage. As hospitals adopt more connected medical devices and cloud-based platforms, this level of PCS integration will only grow more in importance.
Data-driven reporting simplifies compliance
Reporting has become one of the most time-consuming aspects of PCS management. Hospitals must document monthly load tests, the annual four-hour test, and any unplanned outages to meet both CMS requirements and (where applicable) The Joint Commission’s standards. Manual documentation consumes staff time and increases the risk of missing or incomplete records.
New digital tools solve this challenge. Platforms like Russelectric’s generator system run reporting feature (Engine Run Reporting) automatically record testing data the moment generator start signals are issued or when the system transfers onto emergency power. The software captures load levels, sequence timing, transfer durations, measures and records all power conditions and all relevant event details, creating a tamper-proof, time-stamped record aligned with compliance expectations.
This automation enables hospitals to maintain complete records, even with limited staffing, and ensures reporting remains accurate and audit-ready.
Looking ahead: AI and advanced automation
Healthcare organisations are preparing for a new generation of PCS technologies driven by artificial intelligence. Predictive algorithms can identify anomalies before an outage, improve load management, and help operators understand long-term performance trends. Over time, AI-enhanced controls may dynamically adjust transfer sequences based on real-time load behaviour or environmental conditions.
As these functions mature, the PCS will increasingly resemble advanced building management systems—automated, integrated, and continuously optimising performance without requiring constant operator oversight.
Advancing toward a more resilient, intelligent power ecosystem
As healthcare continues to decentralise, digitise, and demand higher reliability, emergency power infrastructure must evolve with it. Modern PCS designs emphasise smart controls, robust ATS performance, UPS integration, and automated reporting that reduces administrative burden. Manufacturers such as Russelectric, a Siemens business, help shape this landscape by delivering engineered transfer switches, integrated control platforms, and emerging automation tools that support long-term system resiliency.
While no single configuration fits every facility, the industry’s trajectory is clear: hospitals and outpatient centres are moving toward more coordinated, data-driven, and maintainable emergency power systems, better prepared for the demands of modern healthcare operations.