Data Shelter’s patent for data centre efficiency receives approval

Author: Isha Jain

Data Shelter has announced that it has received approval for its cost-saving fractional N power efficiency patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office. The innovation delivers at least 25% in capital expenditure savings in constructing data centres built to Uptime Institute Tier IV standards.

Mark Oxley, Inventor and Chief Technical Officer of Data Shelter, says, “This is a ground-breaking development for the data centre community, especially when IT, financial, and sustainability leaders are searching for high-impact advancements. Using our patent in the design process significantly enhances the efficiency of large power-demand data centres. As the capacity grows, efficiency scales equally, no matter the demand.”

The patent aims to ensure data centres remain fully operational in case of a power outage by distributing the operating load in parallel among multiple pieces of equipment, in a fractional N topology.

Mark Gusakov, Director of Client Resiliency at Uptime Institute, says, “Outages are destructive to business and expensive. Our research indicates half of impactful outages cost over $100,000. 25% of organisations experiencing an outage endure costs of over $1 million. Working with Uptime Institute to ensure a fault tolerant solution provides the necessary relief concerning outage protection.”

Data Shelter was awarded an Uptime Institute Tier IV design certification, the highest-level design designation, in 2017. Since then, it has developed additional designs incorporating the key elements of its new patent.

This innovation removes the cost concerns, which had been a significant barrier to entry for developers considering an Uptime Institute Tier IV Certification. If utilised in the early stages of the design process, the patent can allow an operator to bring online an Uptime Institute Tier IV-certified facility at virtually the same cost as an Uptime Institute Tier III-certified designed and constructed facility.

Uptime Institute’s tier classification is considered the international standard for data centre performance and design. Tier IV is the highest level recognised in the industry.

Mark says, “In addition to pursuing our own projects, Data Shelter is exploring collaborations and even patent licensing opportunities with other data centres.”