– Mike Edmonds, Vice President of the U.S. Business Unit, S&C Electric Company, says:
Data Center Power
As data center demand grows, data center facilities are growing in physical size and power consumption. With that, operators and owners face pressure to cut costs and improve energy efficiency. However, traditional electrical systems will not suffice for data centers that need to boost capacity while reining in footprint and power use. Rather, medium-voltage solutions, such as those from S&C Electric Company, offer many advantages for lowering costs and increasing efficiency.
The current 480-volt power system used to distribute electricity within data centers requires a lot of electric distribution materials, such as copper conductors. Once data centers use 30 MW or more, low-voltage power distribution systems will struggle to support the load.
At such levels of power consumption, medium-voltage electrical infrastructure requires much less electrical material and a simplified electrical infrastructure, because there are far fewer conductors to install . This shortens the installation time and creates a smaller footprint, allowing more space for servers – the core function of data centers.
A medium-voltage electrical system also allows data centers to revisit their approach to local on-site back-up power supplies. When connected at medium voltage, today’s energy storage technology can provide whole-facility protection in the event of a power outage, including protection for chillers. With conventional low-voltage UPS systems, which max out at about 1.5 MW, redundant chilled water storage systems are required as back-up protection for servers in case a power outage causes chillers stop operating.
As data centers seek to cut costs and ensure reliable and efficient electricity supply, data centers need to look to modernized power systems. With today’s smart grid technology, there are many proven technologies to ensure that data centers are able to ensure service to their customers while lowering costs and power footprint.
About Mike Edmonds
Mike Edmonds is the Vice President of the U.S. Business Unit for S&C. In this position, Edmond’s primary responsibility is for business development, operating profit, customer support and sales growth within the U.S. Prior to joining S&C in April 2010 Edmonds was Vice President & General Manager of Siemens USA Energy Automation group, responsible for the real-time solutions business for energy management systems, market systems, substation automation and protection control. Edmonds’ previous roles include VP & GM for PTI, whose products and services serve 130 countries in system planning including early adoption and endorsement of the common information model (CIM).
