Today’s modern data centers face an uphill battle. Before even considering power protection, many face difficulties even in securing enough supply for their expanding facilities. The research organization Gartner predicted that by this year (2008) 50% of currently established data centers would not have enough power and cooling capacity to meet demands. Quocirca found that 43% of data centers are aware that a power crunch is coming and 14% (19% in the US) have already reached their limit.
This is due, in part, to server proliferation, as well as a lack of consolidation between procurement, application management, and power usage. But even with a complete change in data center management, there is still a need to elevate power generation and protection higher up the boardroom agenda, as your businesses and those of your customers rely heavily on of the continuity of energy.
Data center power protection should focus on availability, redundancy, resiliency, and serviceability with uninterruptible power supplies at the core and as a bridge between the electrical grid and standby power (whether a generator diesel, a fuel cell or other source).
The most important first step towards uninterruptible power is to categorize loads into critical, essential and non-essential and then size those that warrant UPS protection in terms of their power usage. Critical loads (IT infrastructure, servers, networks, routers, etc.) are those without which the business simply cannot function. They will require UPS protection and redundancy and may even guarantee long run time. Essential loads (emergency heating and lighting, for example) are those that do not necessarily directly affect business continuity, but may be necessary for health and safety reasons. They may need UPS protection to ensure continuity until generator start-up, but may not require redundancy. Non-essential loads (printers, canteens) may be temporarily lost in a power outage and do not require any type of UPS protection.
Sizing an uninterruptible power supply system can be tricky. If it is significantly oversized, it will perform inefficiently and cost more to install. Conversely, ‘undersizing’ will introduce the risk of system overloads. Although an online uninterruptible power supply has a built-in automatic bypass for emergencies, operating near design limits with regular overloads is bad practice.
UPS Sizing – Understanding the importance of ‘real power’ is crucial to power protection sizing. Kilowatts (kW) are a measure of the actual power consumed by the load, while kilovolt-amperes (kVA) are a measure of apparent power. The difference between the two is power factor (pf) and its size presents challenges when specifying UPSs.
The highest efficiency comes from operating at 1.0 or ‘unity’ power factor. An uninterruptible power supply should be specified, with as high an output power factor as possible. A power factor of 0.9 is the standard set by renowned UPS manufacturers such as Riello UPS.
Power protection systems must consist of units that offer an input power factor of no less than 99%, allowing users to reduce energy waste. Today’s UPS must offer a small footprint so as not to take up too much valuable rack space to generate revenue.
An online or double-conversion UPS is recommended for the protection of critical telecommunications or data center loads. The inverter (powered when utility is present from a rectified utility supply) continuously feeds the load from the UPS battery when utility fails. The transfer from the electrical network to the battery is perfect and the supply is not interrupted, which is essential for this type of installation.
There are several UPS configurations available, including single, parallel, and series redundant, each resulting in a different level of resiliency, MTBF (Time Between Failures), and availability.
Resiliency is built into the UPS in the form of an automatic static transfer switch. A sensor monitors the output waveform of the inverter. If the inverter fails due to a short circuit, overload or fault, the static switch transfers the load to the grid without interruption.
Planning for the future – Data center loads are not static and will be constantly changing and adapting throughout the life of the facility. A gradual ‘growth model’ needs to be conceptualized from the outset to allow for future expansion of power protection equipment.
UPS monitoring and maintenance: The advent of Html capability in the field of software has enabled modern UPS manufacturers to integrate sophisticated on-site and remote monitoring capability within their hardware. In fact, modern systems allow for 24/7 remote monitoring (either by the customer or at the manufacturer’s facility) of all critical UPS, generator, air conditioning, and extinguishing equipment. of fires.
Today’s modern UPS systems connected to mission-critical equipment have an internal or external maintenance bypass, allowing service to be performed without shutting down the entire network and losing vital productivity. Proper maintenance, done in a timely and efficient manner, can extend the life of the UPS, increase its efficiency and achieve a better return on investment.
Power protection is vital for today’s data centers and UPS providers like Riello are designing products specifically to meet the needs and limitations of this type of installation. For more information on the design, installation, and operation of power protection systems, read the Power Protection Guide.