Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/394834
www.datacenterjournal.com four- to five-point improvement could be a $40,000 to $50,000 savings per UPS every year. A typical UPS system for a megawatt data center can cost upwards of $250,000. If the savings totals $50,000 annually, that equals a five year payback on the equipment. how to aDD CaPaCIty IntellIgently One trap to avoid today is over provi- sioning. A decade back, many data centers had too much capacity that sat idle. Today's scalable architectures are the best way to approach future needs by having capacity on demand. is approach can be done with a UPS system using, for example, a SoScale method with the ability to unlock capacity without any hardware changes. You can also build a scalable architecture on the premise that in the future you will add more physical modules. is assumption applies if future load-growth requirements are unclear and the data center can operate on a simpler and somewhat less reliable N+1 architecture. Today's N+1 UPS designs allow a data center manager to purchase very simple switchgear and only one UPS module, and as more capacity is needed, another module can be purchased and installed without all the tradi- tional, expensive system-level controls. e bottom line is that if data center managers are ready to modernize, they should look for newer equipment to improve their efficiency and to right-size their ar- chitecture while allowing flexibility for that architecture to grow. Power DIstrIButIon Today's power-distribution architec- tures are very similar to those of 10 years ago—meaning from the output of the UPS system, we typically recognize a voltage that's higher than the voltage that the server is actually running on. e average UPS output voltage in North America is 480 volts, three phase—or in some cases 575–600 volts, three phase. at voltage is then distributed from the UPS equipment room into the data center, where it's fed to PDUs. A PDU serves three primary functions: 1. Transform the voltage from the 480- or 600-volt level to 208/120 volts so it can be used by the IT equipment. Most servers run on 208 line-to-line today. 2. Distribute and control the power. On the secondary side of the PDU is a panel of circuits feeding various serv- ers located on the data center floor. Many customers meter their circuits to measure the amount of energy provided to each server or set of servers. Metering is especially helpful to colocation providers to measure customer energy use and, depending on the rate structure, bill for it. 3. Monitoring and control. With a PDU architecture, users have the capability to understand, manage and control energy consumption from a central location, resulting in better efficiencies. At the PDU level, the operating ef- ficiency of the transformers has improved transformer technology to where we are meeting some higher levels of efficiency standards that are in place today. One of the mandated reference standards is called TP1, a National Electrical Manufacturers of America (NEMA) standard that calls for minimum efficiency levels that vary depend- ing on the size of the transformer, but they are typically greater than 98.5% for today's most common PDU sizes. Designs before the TP-1 standard, which was mandated in 2007, typically ran at 96% to 97% efficiency at op- erating loads, potentially leaving another two or more points of improvement in efficiency at the PDU itself. Consider the data center as a chain: power comes in from the utility, through a building transformer and to a UPS. Mod- ernizing and increasing the efficiency of this chain is a simple way to save money in the data center. By putting in place more- efficient equipment, data center managers can gain significant efficiency improve- ments—88% to 94% in the above scenario— and save tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Modernizing data center infrastruc- ture can improve performance and provide a clear path for growth. n about the author: David Sonner is Vice President Marketing, Liebert AC Power at Emerson Network Power. To keep your facility running 24/7, you must be alerted immediately to the faintest traces of smoke – the first indication of system trouble. FAAST Fire Alarm Aspiration Sensing Technology ® from System Sensor provides very early warning of smoke, so you can respond to potential problems before disaster strikes. With FAAST, you can be the first responder. System Sensor is the world leader in smoke detection. To learn more about our award- winning FAAST aspirating smoke detector, visit: ©2014 System Sensor. All Rights Reserved. No fire. No damage. No downtime. go.systemsensor.com/ faast-dcj