Why UPS market choices are no longer static.
Data center IT string power ratings are rising but when evaluating UPS options decision making has become too streamlined.
The UPS market is confusing and difficult to navigate meaning the temptation is to stick with what you know. This approach is fundamentally flawed. Are there credible alternatives to paralleling dozens of static UPS modules to scale or to several MW within systems that scale to tens of MW?
When Piller’s Robert Maroney spoke at DCD New York in Sept 2020 – virtually of course – his presentation sparked a lot of debate about the future of UPS power provision at cloud scale. Here’s some of what he had to say
High speed, reliable internet is the backbone of the modern economy with data centres and internet exchanges sitting at the core of access to the connectivity revolution.
As capacity demand grows and latency demand shrinks larger data centres will inevitably be needs to support the ever increasing volumes of data traffic.
This in turn can only be provided with a matching increase in reliable, secure power supply. For this to happen new power infrastructure technology is needed
The Covid 19 pandemic has expanded consumer, business and public sector reliance on data centres as the need for remote access and the requirement of WFH have increased exponentially.
Demand, demand, demand
Within five years conservative estimates forecast a world where 150 zettabytes of data is being generated each year. The vast majority of this data will be stored in or pass through a data centre.
Without efficient, reliable power infrastructure that scales operators and users could face the prospect of unnecessarily high capex and opex alongside high maintenance and more outages.
Dynamic not Static – how to scale
There are 4 aspects that data centre developers need to consider for data centre power design.
These are the UPS selection, data centre size, cost of ownership and electrical architecture.
A large yet sensible solution for critical infrastructure power needs to match hyper scalability and consumption capacity.
The appropriate UPS performance, overhaul and maintenance requirements are largely determined by the method through how energy is transferred.
To date the most common UPS type found in modern data centres are electrically coupled. This is unlikely to change.
Electrically coupled UPSs are considered as highly flexible because semiconductors control the energy flow for both recharging and discharging.
And while electrically coupled UPS are likely to remain the dominant technology, as data centres grow it is the advances with a particular electrically coupled UPS that are creating new efficient, reliable options for power provision and protection at multiple MW scale.
The latest UB-V UPS range from Piller uses power electronics to monitor the stored energy transferred. Unlike traditional Static UPSs it does this without multiple power capacitors or electric fans. This aids reliability as the UB-V operates within safe temperature ranges. Large single entity modules provide cost effective reliability as the far lower component count leads to less downtime risk.
Other new UB-V features include a control system with self-diagnostics; Suitability for stabilisation of renewable energy; Ability to export embedded power generation; Low and medium voltage versions; Flexible configuration using single modules that range from 1MW to 3.24MW offer easy paralleling up to 50 MW.
UB-V down time is 13.5% lower than some other UPS technologies. It operates at up to 98% efficiency at 100 % load and 97.3% efficiency at 50% load.
For longer maintenance intervals, UB-V monitoring/reporting is pro-active and remote using predictive maintenance monitoring and reporting with e-VENTLOG. e-VENTLOG is Piller’s latest maintenance service tool that enables shutdown-free annual checks without physical intervention inside the UPS such that down time is not required.
The diagnostic platform monitors data such as room conditions, internal temperatures, switching cycle operations and ventilation. The encrypted data pack that is produced can be transmitted to the Piller Service Centre via secure email or downloaded directly at the deployed UB-V UPS.
UB-V UPS is an elegant- highly flexible and functional solution offering scalable capacity from day one to final build.
Not Static
The UB-V clearly has many advantages over traditional Static UPS deployments at scale.
In terms of capital expenditure the UB-V series installation methods are simple. A simplified infrastructure costs less to deploy, with little switch gear, cabling and duplication providing holistic cost savings with flexible expansion.
There are substantial benefits by operating a data centre using a UB-V UPS. It can be used to increase white space for revenue generation in commercial operations when compared with the footprint of traditional Static roll outs. Low and no touch maintenance is another key advantage. Reliability is many times higher than static UPS and at the same time the downtime is much lower.
To help meet sustainability targets UB-V enables renewable power balance to be maintained and accomplished by Piller technology with innovative stabilization as well as export/import power capabilities.
Less complexity, higher reliability and a large single modular design mean less infrastructure to drive energy consumption savings.
Conclusion
As data centres grow in size and number the UB-V UPS offers developers key long-term benefits.
The UB-V is the latest UPS supplied by Piller and represents the most advanced UPS technology currently available on the market.
It is environmentally friendly and cost effective for large scale deployment in data centres.
To listen to an on-demand of Robert’s presentation including a Q+A session: visit https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/conferences/new-york/2020-virtual-2/a-ups-technology-re-evaluation-for-scale-out-data-centers—why-ups-market-choices-are-no-longer-static/#presentation
(Registration may be required. Piller is not responsible for content or data use on third party sites)
