Power & Cooling

Schneider Electric makes eConversion the default mode for its Galaxy UPS series

Schneider Electric has announced an enhanced version of eConversion (formerly known as ECOnversion), to provide increased sustainability for its Galaxy V Series three-phase UPS. After years of field tests, all Galaxy V Series UPS' will be shipped to customers with eConversion as the default. eConversion mode provides the highest protection level for critical loads with Class-1 (UL certified) and results in savings up to three times the UPS price. Providing critical back-up power solutions for IT and non-IT environments, such as industrial edge applications, the Galaxy V Series’ eConversion delivers reliable power protection and helps attain new levels of sustainability. eConversion has over eight years of field deployment and thousands of customers worldwide who use it daily to protect their critical loads since its launch in 2014. “With eConversion as the default mode for Galaxy V Series three-phase UPSs, we expect to facilitate the conservation of 175GWh of electricity annually - which is the equivalent of the energy produced by nearly 60,000 rooftop solar installations.” Says Mustafa Demirkol, Vice President of Data Centre Systems, Offer Management and Marketing, Energy Management at Schneider Electric. “We’re looking forward to helping customers meet their sustainability goals while reducing their electricity spending and corresponding carbon emissions.” High efficiency mode mitigates impact of rising energy costs According to the World Bank, energy prices are expected to rise more than 50% in 2022 before easing in 2023 and 2024. Utilising eConversion enables operators to mitigate some of the cost and climate impact while continuing to benefit from the highest protection level for critical loads with Class-1 (UL certified). Additionally, with the eConversion savings metre, customers can check electricity savings on the UPS display. Customers can still choose to use the Double Conversion mode, but field experience has shown that modern electrical installations do not justify such high permanent use of electricity. EcoDataCenter, a climate-positive HPC data centre, deployed four Galaxy VX UPS’ at 1250kW each to support customer loads with the possibility to run at 99% efficiency with eConversion mode. As digital demand will continue to grow and require resilience to reap the benefits of automation and efficiency, data centre, OT, and IT professionals will need to make step-changes towards a net zero world. eConversion is available as a feature in all Galaxy V Series UPS’ worldwide.

Telehouse set to achieve a 461t reduction in carbon emissions

Telehouse has announced a collaboration with EkkoSense, enabling the organisation to achieve an anticipated 461t reduction in CO2 carbon emissions at its Telehouse North site by the end of 2022. EkkoSense’s ML and AI-powered optimisation technology monitors and visualises the performance of data centre sites. Following an initial trial at Telehouse North that was implemented at the end of 2021, a 10% cooling power reduction has been achieved, leading to reduced carbon emissions. Its success means that the technology is now being rolled out to other data centres at the Telehouse London Docklands campus. The software works by analysing in real-time thousands of temperature and cooling points across the site to identify where levels of cooling can be tweaked, and dramatically increases the level of insightful data available to the operations team to remove risk and improve resilience. Sensor deployment across the data halls provided Telehouse with the ability to monitor and identify performance improvements. If the temperature in a section of the data centre is outside the normal range, the sensors will flag this. The EkkoSoft Critical 3D visualisation and analytics platform continuously provides advice to the Telehouse team about adjusting cooling settings, such as fan speed adjustments, cooling set points and floor grille placements - resulting in quantifiable cooling energy savings and a reduction in carbon emissions. The technology has also proven to be especially valuable for Telehouse at a time of record-breaking temperatures in the UK. During July and August, the software enabled the organisation to successfully monitor and protect equipment and maintain uptime. The EkkoSense software includes 3D visualisation capabilities, which the organisation uses to gain a clear picture of where overcooling is taking place, the location of hotspots or any other inefficiencies that need rectification to benefit its customers. The organisation is also exploring how the solution can be used to improve capacity management processes, identify any capacity constraints and better quantify available capacity. “We’ve already made significant carbon emission reductions from an initial rollout of EkkoSense, and we’re eager to implement the software around our wider campus to extend these capabilities. It’s very difficult to manually inspect every element of a data centre to identify inefficiencies and make improvements. EkkoSense provides a highly granular level of data and visualisation to help support our green agenda and ensure our customers meet their sustainability targets,” says Paul Lewis, Senior Operations Director, Telehouse. “The initial results achieved with Telehouse have proved promising, but this is just the beginning. Our technology works to continuously identify optimisation opportunities and push the efficiency of Telehouse’s operations that little bit further. We’re looking forward to rolling out our unique visualisation and monitoring software at the organisation’s other sites to help progress its sustainability stature,” says Dean Boyle, CEO, EkkoSense.

How reliable is your backup power?

By Paul Brickman, Commercial Director at Crestchic What does good look like? It’s no surprise that the data centre sector’s reliance on UPS is on the up, and the onus is often on the site manager or maintenance teams to ensure the equipment that provides this power is reliable, well-maintained, and fit for purpose. The maintenance and regular testing of a UPS primary power source is considered best practice and any business that runs this sort of system will likely have a programme of maintenance in place. But this is only half a job done. There remains an astonishing number of data centres that fail to regularly test their backup power system, despite it lying dormant for the majority of the year. Instead, data centres are putting their trust in fate, hoping that the backup system will activate without fail - a fool’s game given the increasing cost of downtime. Why factory testing is not enough UPS systems and backup generators are typically tested at the factory as part of the manufacturing and quality testing process. Some businesses mistakenly think that this will be sufficient to ensure the equipment will operate effectively after installation. The reality is that on-site climatic conditions such as temperature and humidity often vary between locations. These variations in environment, combined with the impact of lifting, moving and transporting sensitive equipment, can mean that the manufacturer-verified testing may be thrown off kilter by on-site conditions or even human intervention during installation. For this reason, it is absolutely critical that backup power systems are commissioned accurately and tested in-situ in actual site conditions using a load bank. Where unplanned downtime is likely to be costly or even devastating to a business’ financial stability - having backup power such as a generator is crucial. Wherever power is generated, there is also a need for a load bank - a device that is used to create an electrical load that imitates the operational or ‘real’ load that a generator would use in normal operational conditions. In short, the load bank is used to test, support, or protect a critical backup power source and ensure that it is fit for purpose in the event that it is called upon. Backup power testing best practice A robust and proactive approach to the maintenance and testing of the power system is crucial to mitigate the risk of failure. However, implementing a testing regime that validates the reliability and performance of backup power must be done under the types of loads found in real operational conditions. What would be considered best practice for testing a backup power system? Ideally, all generators should be tested annually for real-world emergency conditions using a resistive-reactive 0.8pf load bank. Best practice dictates that all gensets (where there are multiple) should be run in a synchronised state, ideally for eight hours but for a minimum of three. Where a reactive-only load bank is used, testing should be increased to four times per year at three hours per test. In carrying out this testing and maintenance, fuel, exhaust and cooling systems and alternator insulation resistance are effectively tested, and system issues can be uncovered in a safe, controlled manner without the cost of major failure or unplanned downtime. Why is resistive-reactive the best approach? Capable of testing both resistive and reactive loads, this type of load bank provides a much clearer picture of how well an entire system will withstand changes in load pattern while experiencing the level of power that would typically be encountered under real operational conditions. Furthermore, the inductive loads used in resistive-reactive testing will show how a system will cope with a voltage drop in its regulator. This is particularly important in any application which requires generators to be operated in parallel (prevalent in larger business infrastructures such as hospital or data banks) where a problem with one generator could prevent other system generators from working properly or even failing to operate entirely. This is something which is simply not achievable with resistive-only testing. Secure your power source The importance of testing is being clearly recognised in many new data centres, with the installation of load banks often being specified at the design stage rather than being added retrospectively. Given that the cost of a load bank is typically only a fraction of that of the systems which it supports, this makes sound commercial sense and enables a preventative maintenance regime, based on regular and rigorous testing and reporting, to be put in place from day one. While testing of power systems is not yet a condition of insurance, some experts believe it is only a matter of time before this becomes the case. At the very least, by adopting a proactive testing regime, data centres can take preventative action towards mitigating the catastrophic risk associated with power loss.

Vertiv offers scalable busbar power distribution system

Vertiv has continued the expansion of its power distribution portfolio with the availability of the Vertiv Powerbar iMPB, a modular busbar system designed to enable seamless, on-demand power upgrades in dynamic data centre environments. Available in both copper and aluminium conductor offerings, the Vertiv Powerbar iMPB family features capacities from 160A to 1,000A and delivers reliable overhead power distribution, with the inherent benefit of also maximising cooling airflow. The system is ideal for use in almost any size or style of data centre, as well as laboratories, distribution warehouses, adaptable manufacturing plants and other dynamic environments. The Vertiv Powerbar iMPB is available in North America, Latin America, Asia - including Australia and New Zealand, India, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The busway system allows businesses to cost-effectively optimise and adapt power distribution infrastructure over time, maximising availability through continuous power delivery to critical loads. User-friendly tap-off boxes with breaker protection can be placed anywhere along the busway and isolate active IT loads and nearby branch breakers to ensure continuous power delivery. The adaptive busbar comes with a simple sandwich-style joint pack construction that makes installation secure and easy, with no special tooling required. The Vertiv Powerbar iMPB includes a variety of capacity and connection configurations to allow for adjustments and upgrades with minimal outside support and no loss of power to critical loads. “As more and more devices are added and higher rack densities become commonplace, space is at a premium in today’s data centres,” says Phil O’Doherty, Managing Director, E&I at Vertiv. “The power infrastructure must keep pace, which means being scalable and quick to deploy. The Vertiv Powerbar iMPB delivers on all fronts with a modular, easy-to-install system that is compact and flexible enough to meet constantly changing demands.” The Vertiv Powerbar iMPB is UL 857 and IEC 61439-2 compliant, and the lightweight aluminium busway track chassis has an IP2X/3X safety rating with integrated finger-safe capabilities and ground-first/break-last design to ensure maximum safety while servicing. With both copper and recyclable aluminium conductor options, the busbar can be configured to meet the conductivity and safety requirements of any installation. The Vertiv Powerbar iMPB, a mature offering from Vertiv’s E&I brand, will supersede the previous Vertiv Liebert MBX busway product that was available in North America and EMEA, and is compatible with the previous offering. The Vertiv Powerbar iMPB solution complements the Vertiv E&I switchgear range to provide a complete power distribution solution. www.vertiv.com

Vertiv introduces new lithium-ion UPS and cooling solutions

Vertiv has introduced new power and cooling solutions for the edge of the network, including the addition of lithium-ion models to one of the industry’s leading on-line UPS families. The Vertiv Liebert GXT5 Lithium-Ion UPS range and the Vertiv Liebert SRC-G room cooling solution are now available throughout Asia, including Australia and New Zealand. “We understand the growing complexities of managing computing at the edge of the network,” says Andy Liu, Director for Integrated Rack Solutions at Vertiv in Asia. “Availability, efficiency and agility are vital to our customers, and our new offerings meet these requirements, with lithium-ion technology in compact UPS, and a high-efficiency room cooling system for small IT spaces. In addition, these high-efficiency systems can support our customers’ sustainability strategies in the data centre space.” Vertiv leveraged the higher power density of lithium-ion to pack more battery runtime in the same amount of space as a typical valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) battery. The Liebert GXT5 Lithium-Ion, ranging in sizes from 1kVA to 3kVA, also supports scalable runtime, with a 1U lithium-ion external battery cabinet (EBC). In addition, lithium-ion batteries typically last eight to 10 years - roughly the lifespan of the UPS itself - compared to about two to three years for VRLA, potentially eliminating costly and inconvenient battery replacements. Lithium-ion batteries are also significantly lighter than VRLA batteries and perform better at higher temperatures, reducing the need for lower temperatures in the rack and by extension, lowering the costs of energy used for cooling. The Liebert GXT5 Lithium-Ion comes with five years standard warranty for both UPS unit and battery. To meet UL standards, the lithium-ion batteries include an integrated battery management system that monitors the battery at the cell level to enable safe, efficient operation. The Vertiv Liebert GXT5 Lithium-Ion is compatible with the Vertiv Liebert MicroPOD, an optional maintenance bypass switch that can be installed in the rack behind the UPS, enabling maintenance to the UPS without taking the protected rack equipment offline. Meanwhile, the Liebert SRC-G delivers the optimal availability and efficiency in cooling small IT spaces. Available from 3kW to 11kW, the Liebert SRC-G is wall-mounted, occupying no ‘white space’ while providing year-round cooling to IT equipment. The CE-certified Liebert SRC-G series is capable of supporting sensible load operation year-round. It is equipped with energy efficient electronically commutated (EC) fan technology and refrigerant R410A, together with efficient compressor technology. The Liebert SRC-G also features an advanced controller, including remote monitoring capabilities for added intelligence when managing edge IT locations. www.vertiv.com

Panduit launches SmartZone intelligent UPS family

Panduit has introduced the SmartZone Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) family to EMEA region, delivering simple to install and use, highly efficient and reliable power with the capability to integrate into Panduit’s SmartZone DCIM software and provide intelligent systems and environmental alerts, consistent power protection and backup for critical computer ITE. The SmartZone UPS family offers excellent electrical performance, intelligent battery management and a long lifespan (with lithium-ion units offering 97% efficiency). Compliant with ENERGY STAR 2.0, EMC, and safety standards, it is guaranteed that the SmartZone UPS meets the continually growing power demands of data centre, enterprise, and edge IT equipment. The rack-mounted SmartZone UPS family focuses on high reliability, power density, efficiency, and secure manageability. This UPS range offers models with various power ratings, configurations, and battery types to meet application-specific needs, and includes 1-3kVA, 5-10kVA and 10/15/20kVA online double conversion units, equipped with powerful and maintenance-free batteries. All SmartZone UPS units offer a 79mm (3.5in) touch screen colour display. The screen auto-detects the UPS mounting orientation and auto-rotates to support horizontal in-rack installation or vertical tower installation. Three-phase UPS Developed for critical computer environments, such as data centres and edge, Panduit’s SmartZone UPS’ offer an integrated solution with UPS connectivity with multiple external battery packs (EBP) and an external Maintenance Bypass Switch (MBS). For larger systems the UPS can be configured as three-phase in/three-phase out high-density UPS, or as three-phase in/single-phase out high-density UPS. Digital signal processor controlled, the units offer superior reliability, high power efficiency and constant self-protection and self-diagnostics to provide maximum system availability. The battery charging current is user selectable, allowing the battery charging parameters to be optimised for utilisation and battery life. Furthermore, the system offers innovative three-stage charging to extend service life and guarantee fast charging. Efficient ECO mode The UPS can be manually configured to operate in either normal or ECO mode. Normal mode (online double conversion) is the default mode for the UPS unit and operates as a stable pure sine wave AC output and charges the battery. When in normal mode and the load is not critical, the UPS can be set to ECO mode to increase the efficiency of the power supplied. SmartZone As an intelligent UPS solution, the SmartZone UPS can be integrated into common control and monitoring systems, such as the cloud based DCIM application SmartZone Cloud. This web-based application can manage, monitor, and control energy consumption, environmental data, security components, connectivity, and IT resources. For secure infrastructure monitoring, the SmartZone cloud application collects and processes real-time data from the integrated systems and sends timely alerts to prevent potential failures. This allows risks to be efficiently minimised and costly system failures to be prevented.   

Kohler HVO fuel capabilities provide data centre customers with a pathway to zero carbon

Kohler Power Systems has announced that its entire offering of mission-critical diesel generators is compatible with Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), marking a significant breakthrough in the usage of alternative fuels in backup power. No adaptations to the installed generators are required, allowing for the immediate rollout of renewable fuel to customers seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. “At Kohler, we have already made great strides in making our generators inherently more efficient, reducing emissions regardless of the fuel used,” says James Zhang, President, Kohler Power Systems. “Now with HVO, we have taken a massive leap forward in our sustainability journey by greatly reducing the carbon footprint of our diesel products.” This next-generation renewable fuel has all the advantages of a sustainable fuel source, with none of the disadvantages of first-generation biodiesels. While first-generation solutions had a limited storage life of just six months, HVO is highly stable, with no sensitivity to oxidation, so it can be stored long-term. It is also 90% carbon neutral and sourced entirely from waste products – making it part of a circular economy. The similarity in HVO and fossil diesel characteristics further smooths the shift to biofuel because the two fuels can be mixed directly in the tank without issue. Therefore, it can be used immediately as the sole fuel supply for all Kohler diesel generators, such as the KD-Series, whether they are brand new or previously installed and in operation. In Europe, data centre operators are working hard to reduce emissions on their road to a zero carbon future. The Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, an industry body, has submitted a 'Self-Regulatory Initiative Proposal' to the European Union, while initiatives such as Carbon Aware Computing are encouraging the shift to cleaner data centres. “Customers can continue to rely on Kohler for their backup power needs, and now with a greater commitment to sustainability and reducing their carbon footprint, while not compromising on performance. The HVO fuel option supports Kohler’s commitment to our Better Planet strategy within the Believing in Better operating philosophy that focuses on overarching environmental goals,” James adds.

Uptime Institute finds downtime consequences worsening as efforts to curb outage frequency fall short

The digital infrastructure sector is struggling to achieve a measurable reduction in outage rates and severity, and the financial consequences and overall disruption from outages are steadily increasing, according to Uptime Institute, which today released the findings of its 2022 annual Outage Analysis report. “Digital infrastructure operators are still struggling to meet the high standards that customers expect and service level agreements demand – despite improving technologies and the industry’s strong investment in resiliency and downtime prevention,” says Andy Lawrence, Founding Member and Executive Director, Uptime Institute Intelligence. “The lack of improvement in overall outage rates is partly the result of the immensity of recent investment in digital infrastructure, and all the associated complexity that operators face as they transition to hybrid, distributed architectures,” comments Lawrence. “In time, both the technology and operational practices will improve, but at present, outages remain a top concern for customers, investors, and regulators. Operators will be best able to meet the challenge with rigorous staff training and operational procedures to mitigate the human error behind many of these failures.” Uptime’s annual outage analysis is unique in the industry, and draws on multiple surveys, information supplied by Uptime Institute members and partners, and its database of publicly reported outages. Key Findings Include: • High outage rates haven’t changed significantly. One in five organisations report experiencing a ‘serious’ or ‘severe’ outage (involving significant financial losses, reputational damage, compliance breaches and in some severe cases, loss of life) in the past three years, marking a slight upward trend in the prevalence of major outages. According to Uptime’s 2022 Data Centre Resiliency Survey, 80% of data centre managers and operators have experienced some type of outage in the past three years – a marginal increase over the norm, which has fluctuated between 70% and 80%. • The proportion of outages costing over $100,000 has soared in recent years. Over 60% of failures result in at least $100,000 in total losses, up substantially from 39% in 2019. The share of outages that cost upwards of $1 million increased from 11% to 15% over that same period. • Power-related problems continue to dog data centre operators. Power-related outages account for 43% of outages that are classified as significant (causing downtime and financial loss). The single biggest cause of power incidents is uninterruptible power supply (UPS) failures. • Networking issues are causing a large portion of IT outages. According to Uptime’s 2022 Data Centre Resiliency Survey, networking-related problems have been the single biggest cause of all IT service downtime incidents – regardless of severity – over the past three years. Outages attributed to software, network and systems issues are on the rise due to complexities from the increasing use of cloud technologies, software-defined architectures and hybrid, distributed architectures. • The overwhelming majority of human error-related outages involve ignored or inadequate procedures. Nearly 40% of organisations have suffered a major outage caused by human error over the past three years. 85% of these incidents stem from staff failing to follow procedures or from flaws in the processes and procedures themselves. • External IT providers cause most major public outages. The more workloads that are outsourced to external providers, the more these operators account for high-profile, public outages. Third-party, commercial IT operators (including cloud, hosting, colocation, telecommunication providers, etc.) account for 63% of all publicly reported outages that Uptime has tracked since 2016. In 2021, commercial operators caused 70% of all outages. • Prolonged downtime is becoming more common in publicly reported outages. The gap between the beginning of a major public outage and full recovery has stretched significantly over the last five years. Nearly 30% of these outages in 2021 lasted more than 24 hours, a disturbing increase from just 8% in 2017. • Public outage trends suggest there will be at least 20 serious, high-profile IT outages worldwide each year. Of the 108 publicly reported outages in 2021, 27 were serious or severe. This ratio has been consistent since the Uptime Intelligence team began cataloguing major outages in 2016, indicating that roughly one-fourth of publicly recorded outages each year are likely to be serious or severe.

Schneider Electric drives sustainability with Uniflair cooling innovation

Schneider Electric has announced its new range of Uniflair Chillers with inverter screw compressors for large data centres, which provide the efficiency, precision, and configurability to adapt to current and future data centre cooling challenges. The air-cooled and free cooling extra-large chillers provide increased cooling capacity and lower power consumption for high energy efficiency in all environmental conditions. Uniflair Chillers with screw compressors are within the first solutions to leverage low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. “The latest Uniflair Chiller air cooler is designed end-to-end with sustainability in mind and provides enterprises with outstanding energy efficiencies and reliability, even in challenging conditions. With the use of green refrigerants, combined with decreased power consumption, this offering emphasises Schneider’s dedication to purposeful innovation and sustainability while empowering customers with forward-looking adaptability.” says Pankaj Pathak, Director Cooling, Secure Power, Schneider Electric. Data centre cooling innovation advances sustainability and resiliency missions Schneider’s latest 300-2200kW Uniflair Chillers introduce major improvements to high efficiency and reliable cooling for data centre applications and enhance the current platform with new sizes and configurations. The chillers: Offer modular configuration and are packaged to simplify and accelerate site deployment and design.Integrate a free-cooling system that leverages outdoor air to provide cooling, minimising energy consumption without impacting unit size.Minimise annual energy usage, improving TCO.Achieve +2MW with high water temperature, increasing unit cooling capacity in a reduced footprint. Furthering sustainability action with iMason’s Climate Accord In addition to driving data centre sustainability through innovation, Schneider Electric reinforced its commitment to industry collaboration as a founding coalition member in the Infrastructure Masons Climate Accord. Infrastructure Masons (iMasons) has assembled a historic cooperative of over 50 companies, including AWS, Microsoft and Google, to reduce carbon in digital infrastructure materials, products, and power. The mission of this accord is to standardise global carbon accounting of digital infrastructure, influencing market-based decisions to drive the industry to achieve carbon neutrality.

PowerExchanger integrates renewables and stabilises the grid

With more intermittent renewable energy generation on the world’s power networks, and fossil fuel supplies experiencing major disruptions, distributed power reserves are becoming increasingly important in order to maintain grid stability and keep the power on 24/7. To support this transition, ABB is launching PowerExchanger, a feature for its UPS products, which allows battery reserves to provide ancillary services to the grid, reducing costly downtime and cutting energy and operating costs. UPS equipment is used to provide back-up power in the case of a grid supply failure, and can also eliminate brownouts, over-voltages, and electrical noise. The UPS’ back-up power is drawn from its energy storage capacity, which often goes unused. With PowerExchanger fitted to new or existing ABB UPS systems, these batteries can be used to help the grid respond quickly to unexpected imbalances between power generation and demand to reduce costly outages. By using PowerExchanger to join markets for grid ancillary services, for example Fast Frequency Response (FRF), operators can now generate a new revenue stream, which lowers the cost of operating this capital-intensive equipment. Ideal for low and medium voltage data centres, PowerExchanger ensures a minimum energy reserve is retained by the UPS battery, so in the event of a complete grid outage, the critical load will always be protected. PowerExchanger can also deliver additional financial and performance benefits, thanks to peak shaving. When peak-time energy comes at a premium, PowerExchanger enables on-site UPS energy reserves to cover consumption peaks and keep costs low. “Against the global backdrop of rising energy prices and supply uncertainty, our customers are under increasing pressure to optimise the use of installed assets and improve efficiencies – all while supporting the transition to renewable energy,” says Paolo Catapane, UPS Product Manager for ABB. “A powerful way to do this is to harness the untapped potential of the energy storage held within a UPS, which is what our new PowerExchanger can do. It provides demand response functionality, helping to stabilise the grid while generating a healthy revenue for operators and lowering operating costs, making it ideal for use in mission critical facilities such as data centres.”