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14 | THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL www.datacenterjournal.com able backup energy source that keeps critical systems up and running no matter the state of the power grid. In addition, flywheels free up 50 to 75% of data center space that would otherwise be taken up by an equivalent power-rated battery bank. is space savings lowers construction costs and allows the real estate to be used more efficiently. Also, cooling require- ments are reduced as flywheels can operate in temperatures from 0°C to 40°C. IMPortant aDvantages of the flywheel systeM • No need for cooling like batteries – saving energy and costs • Small footprint – saving valuable data center real estate • Very low maintenance – compared to conducting a minimum of two preventative battery maintenance services a year and having to replace batteries every four to five years • High power density • 99.4% efficiency • 20-year life and low cost of ownership Since batteries are the weakest part of a power stability system, flywheels paired with batteries reassure data center manag- ers that their batteries are safeguarded against premature aging and unexpected failures. When the flywheel is used alone, it will provide immediate power to the connected load as it does with batteries. However, if the power loss continues for more than a few minutes, the flywheel will quickly transfer to the facility's engine-generator. Evaluating Energy Efficiencies Today, data center and facility managers have various considerations to evaluate for increasing energy efficien- cies and reducing one's carbon footprint. e challenge becomes how to implement green technologies without disrupting high nine's of availability that data centers require, while achieving a low total cost of ownership (TCO). is challenge becomes even more crucial when looking at the power protec- tion infrastructure. Data center managers need power protection systems that have reduced requirements for maintenance, including the ability to conduct preventa- tive maintenance without going to bypass or taking the UPS off line. Many UPS systems offer flexibility and scalability, allowing the user to add additional power as the load grows. In addition, numerous organizations today are looking to deploy greener and more sustainable solutions into their data centers. Tests validate that flywheels can save a facility hundreds of thousands of dollars compared to batteries over a 20-year life (figure 2). flywheels: PerfeCt for tIer III anD tIer Iv Data Centers Tier III and Tier IV data centers are simply not seeking 10 to 30 minutes of back-up time; they require continuous power. As such, these data centers are designed to be redundant – supported by multiple UPSs and generators. Data center managers at these facilities know that 10 to 15 minutes of backup time is not going to do any good if the generator fails. What is required is reliable energy storage to transition from the failed utility to the generators. Perhaps most importantly of all, these high-availability data centers are discovering that they can do that more reliably, efficiently and economically with flywheel energy storage than with batteries over the life of the data center. n about the author: Promoted to President in 2009, Frank DeLattre joined VYCON in 2007 to take the helm of the Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) and Power Quality division of the company. DeLattre brings a wealth of knowledge and technical sales experience in both domestic and international markets, having spent more than 20 years in power quality and related industries. Frank holds an MBA from West Coast University and a BS from San Diego State University. Figure 2. VYCON VDC flywheel lifecycle cost vs. batteries