CENTIEL’s true modular UPS are now available in an IP54 enclosure offering a sophisticated and robust power protection solution for semi-industrial and more environmentally challenging sites.

Aaron Oddy, Sales Manager, Centiel explains:  “Centiel’s award-winning IP54 three phase, true modular, UPS CumulusPower^TM has now been installed in a large number of UK sites with harsh environments.  It means clients have all the benefits of a state-of-the-art uninterruptable power supply (UPS) integrated into a more robust chassis to offer a higher grade of protection from dust and water.”

At Data Centre World 6-7 March, Centiel will show its new, sustainable UPS StratusPower^TM in a high quality Rittal IP54 enclosure for the first time.  StratusPower^TM shares all the benefits of its three phase, true modular UPS CumulusPower^TM – including “9 nines” (99.9999999%) availability to effectively eliminate system downtime; class leading 97.6% on-line efficiency to minimise running costs; true “hot swap” modules to eliminate human error in operation – but now also includes long-life components to improve sustainability.

Aaron Oddy confirms: “StratusPower uniquely offers a 30-year design life to help data centres to achieve net-zero targets.  The system is highly efficient, scalable, and reliable, providing complete peace of mind when it comes to power availability and uptime for critical power protection.  The IP54 versions of CumulusPower and StratusPower mean the solution is also suitable for semi-industrial applications both within different areas of the data centre and other industrial sites which might include water treatment facilities, power plants or some medical plant rooms.

“Both the IP54 rated CumulusPower and StratusPower solutions benefit from integral batteries and front access to improve ease of maintenance and save space while offering a more cost-effective solution than a more traditional industrial UPS.  We are looking forward to welcoming visitors and discussing the flexibility and wider applications of our leading UPS at DCW this year on booth D725.”

Centiel now protects critical loads for data centres and comms rooms in over 100 countries across five continents.  www.centiel.co.uk

The post CENTIEL’s UPS now Available in an IP54 Enclosure   appeared first on theenergyst.com.

In August 2019, a simultaneous malfunction caused by lightning, at an offshore wind farm and gas facility located more than 100 miles apart, caused a power cut in the UK. The lightning strike was one of many to hit the national grid on the day. The simultaneous outages occurred independently at Hornsea offshore wind farm and Little Barford gas power station. Such a vast outage has not occurred in more than a decade.

The total generation lost from these two transmission-connected generators was 1378MW, according to the National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO). The scale of generation loss meant that the 1000MW level of “backup” power held under regulations was insufficient. As a result, the system automatically disconnected customers on the distribution network. Around five percent of electricity demand was turned off to protect the other 95%.

The NGESO reports that a lightning strike would not be expected to trip off or de-load and this occurrence appears to represent an ‘extremely rare and unexpected event’ but with increased energy generation sources, switching in and out more often, coupled with increased overall demand, power supply is inherently less stable than even five years ago.

The UK is in an energy and gas crisis, with prices surging for consumers and dozens of suppliers already gone bust since September due to the record-high natural gas prices.

The unfolding energy crisis has coincided with the grid’s annual assessment of Great Britain’s resilience to disruption to electricity supplies, with the key “margin” figure falling to its lowest in five years. The grid’s electricity system operator (ESO) said the amount of reserve electricity supply that could be called upon was expected to be 6.6% of demand but could fall as low as 4.2%.

Planned shutdowns at gas plants and the retirement of two nuclear reactors are also factors in the tighter margin for the winter and growing uncertainties within the power sector.

In recent months, it has become clear that serious strains are now being placed on energy security in the UK. At the same time as spiralling gas costs, electricity supplies are now threatened because most of the UK’s ageing nuclear reactors, which currently provide 20% of our electricity, face closure in the next few years with little prospect, at present, of new atomic power plants being ready to fill the gap in lost output.

The UK looks to prevent power outages next winter season by setting a higher target for the 2022-23 power capacity auction than the one recommended by the grid. Yet, coal closures and no immediate replacements for nuclear power have exposed the UK’s vulnerabilities to the whims of the weather, with cold winters stoking natural gas demand and still weather lowering wind power generation.

A sudden loss of power will disrupt most business operations, and in some cases lead to a total inability to trade. Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) provide short-term emergency backup power in the event of any disturbances or disruptions to the mains electricity supply.

A UPS system protects computers, IT equipment, telecommunications networks, and other vital electrical equipment, infrastructure, and machinery against unexpected problems with the input power source. Clean, continuous power is an essential requirement of 21st century day-to-day life, with sectors as diverse as banking, utilities, manufacturing, transportation, retail, healthcare, and entertainment all dependent on complex computer and communications technologies.

A UPS provides the protection for short term outages and when used with a generator will provide clean uninterrupted power for an indefinite time to ensure that businesses continue to operate even when the grid is badly disrupted in the way described.

Any unexpected power disruption to these mission-critical networks can lead to damaging downtime and data loss, costing businesses thousands of pounds a minute in sales and hours of lost productivity. Even worse, it could even lead to death and serious injury.

Uninterruptible power supply system’s reduce these risks and form a fundamental part of any organisation’s continuity planning. A UPS system also has many advantages especially when it comes to energy efficiency.  The higher its operational energy efficiency, the lower the amount of energy wasted delivering a reduction in running costs.

KUP prides itself on delivering industry-leading UPS power protection solutions combined with UPS service excellence to ensure uninterruptible power supplies are ‘always on’.

To find out more about KUP’s range of modular UPS systems and UPS maintenance programmes, please get in touch by calling 01256 386700.

www.kohler-ups.co.uk

The post The perfect storm? appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Today, most critical installations’ power protection comes from the proven combination of static UPS (uninterruptible power supply) systems and standby diesel generators. However, environmental concerns are generating a variety of alternative technologies that include more energy efficient UPS, combustion of bio-derived diesel fuels, or hydrogen, and electricity without combustion from hydrogen cells or batteries.

As a forward-looking player in the industry Kohler can offer insights into the various merits of these and how to best balance power protection against reducing environmental impact.

Effective and efficient

A UPS system’s primary role is conditioning power and protecting sensitive loads from mains disturbances. Consequently, all critical load power passes through them and even small percentage losses are significant (at 1.5MW, +1% efficiency over 10 years represents +£225k electricity). This has driven UPS efficiency levels to now exceed 97% and smart, modular designs that optimise loads across modules to ensure the best efficiency at any specific load.

Similarly, whilst Li-ion batteries offer space and weight savings, minimal recycling infrastructure plus high costs and production footprints mean instead lead-acid VRLA batteries remain a greener choice for standby applications. To reduce size and thus impact without compromising protection, these should be properly integrated with generator systems.

Diesel developments

Noxious emissions from diesel combustion are regulated against and in a generator context can be minimised through advanced combustion control and exhaust scrubbing, whilst carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions reduce with more efficient fuel consumption. However, users now seek greater improvements.

Natural gas burns more cleanly than diesel, but remains fossil fuel based. Therefore, in transport, fatty acid methyl-ester (FAME) biodiesel made from crops or vegetable oils is a growing solution. In standby applications though the short, 6-month, shelf life is a particular issue. Next-generation, hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) “renewable diesel” overcomes this, with 10-year shelf life and drop-in compatibility with many generators, including Kohler’s.

Hydrogen promise

Burning hydrogen is very clean, though with an efficiency of only 25% when generating electricity looks poor use of an expensive resource compared to the 60% efficiency of hydrogen-fed proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel-cells.

The underlying issue though is production of the hydrogen – today 95% is made from natural gas, so its carbon footprint is close to that of traditional diesel. Add in storage and supply issues and whilst promising, most users see it as a fuel for the future.

Conclusion

If looking to balance the requirement for reliable emergency power with the climate emergency today, a pragmatic solution would begin with a smart, high-efficiency static UPS system and appropriately-sized VRLA battery bank. This would be fully integrated with an optimally-sized, modern HVO-fuelled generator system.

If you would like to learn more please contact Kohler Uninterruptible Power.

The post Sustainably sustaining power appeared first on theenergyst.com.

HiPerGuard delivers the positive benefits of a classic dynamic rotary UPS, including low TCO, high performance and resilience against major grid events, while incorporating the flexibility and capabilities of a modern static converter system. The result is a MV UPS system that can offer increased grid support capabilities, including UPS demand response while minimising costly downtime and power outages. It tackles key power quality issues, preventing data processing errors, circuit board failures and overheating by protecting against voltage sags, swells, spikes, and power interruptions.

Dave Sterlace, head of Technology for ABB Global Data Center Solutions, comments, “With data center downtime estimated to cost between $100,000 and $1 million USD per year, there is an increasing call for clean, continuous, energy efficient and reliable power that minimises major losses. In response, we are proud to innovate UPS technology to provide the right quality of power which eliminates interruptions to prevent significant performance and financial losses. At the same time, as part of ABB’s 2030 Sustainability Strategy commitments, HiPerGuard helps to reduce harmful CO₂ emissions by increasing efficiency compared to traditional rotary systems.”

As well as outstanding load protection performance, through its innovative, ABB-patented, Impedance Isolated Static Converter (ZISC) architecture, which delivers reliable and efficient separation of the energy source, HiPerGuard brings the power protection closer to the grid than other solutions. This improves demand response and supply reliability.

In addition to efficiency and protection benefits, ABB’s HiPerGuard has advanced integration capabilities with a wide range of backup power systems including diesel generators, slow paced gas generators and turbines. HiPerGuard also ensures flexibility of system design and future energy source implementation, for alternative energy sources such as hydrogen.

As with all ABB Power Protection products, HiPerGuard is designed with long term system availability in mind and only requires intrusive maintenance in ten-year intervals, delivering time and cost savings for maintenance teams.

More information on the ABB HiPerGuard is available on the website: https://new.abb.com/ups/systems/medium-voltage-ups/zisc.

The post ABB launches medium voltage UPS that delivers 98% efficiency appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Data centres have undergone massive changes in recent years. Once viewed as potential environmental villains due to their intense energy consumption and the associated carbon emissions. However advanced Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) technologies have the potential to turn them into environmentally friendly heroes while maintaining 100% uptime, proving that data centres can be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Ciaran Forde, data centre segment lead at Eaton explains 

It is hard to imagine the elements of our lives that aren’t facilitated, somehow, by data centres. Cloud and digitisation are the new norm for individuals and companies. If we were ever any doubt of this, it was thrown into focus by the global reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic this year. With lockdowns and social distancing rules in place, many countries saw the bulk of their workforces move to remote working, while social lives moved online more than ever before. In fact, at the beginning of the pandemic,BT reported a 35% to 60% increase in daytime weekday fixed broadband usage. Businesses and consumers alike increasingly rely on 24/7, ‘always on’ digital infrastructure and as a result, more and more data centres are being built to handle the surge in data processing required to enable this digital-first lifestyle.

Currently, some estimates say data centres account for around 3 per cent of global energy demand. As data centre usage grows, the world is starting to pay attention. A recent BBC documentary calculated that streaming thirty hours of television produces carbon emissionssimilar to driving 100 miles. Consumers who are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of their online lives on the planet, will search for lower impact options but making data centres greener would go a long way to solving the problem.

Fighting pressure in a pandemic

The shift from office to remote working has meant that data centres are consuming a lot more energy and producing a lot more carbon. An analysis from Nokia suggests that overall internet traffic hasincreased by 25 per centover pre-pandemic levels. Even if the world were to go back to its pre-pandemic habits, we would still expect to see data centres become one of the world’s major energy users going forwards: according to Akamai, the traffic growth we’ve seen recently would havehappened over the course of a yearanyway.

However, by contrast Naturesuggests that carbon emissions during early April were17% lower than usual, and while remote working will not have accounted for all of that reduction, the potential for different patterns of work to help reduce environmental impact is clear. The fact that so many businesses were able to keep operating in completely remote circumstances is, of course, testament to the power of networking and data centres. What’s more, millions of workers around the world turning to the cloud to get their jobs done revealed how significant remote work might be as a strategy for carbon emissions reduction. As tragic as the pandemic has been, it has also been an accelerator in terms of companies and people adopting digital strategies and technologies that perhaps were in a latent state. Now the are embraced, front and centre to our work and social lives.

The potential of UPS technologies 

A limiting factor on the adoption of renewable energy at grid level is it lack of intertia. The grid need inertia to maintain grid frequency. UPS technologies can help data centres provide fast response and help to tackle issues related to low inertia and frequency containment by providing grid system (ancillary) services. This can then help to increase adoption of renewables reducing reliance on fossil fuels sources.

Beyond the positive environmental impact, EnergyAware UPS technologydevices can also generate value for data centres. By adopting smart time-of-use and peak shaving strategies, data centre managers can save on energy costs. But it can also allow businessesto profit from existing UPS investment through helping grid operators balance the system and regulate frequency. These significant fee-earning services can provide a healthy revenue stream. The EnergyAware UPS creates a bidirectional relationship with the grid and helps operators better manage frequency and keep it within its tight regulatory and operational limits. So in addition to accelerating the adoption of renewables, generating revenue, the data centre UPS itself ensures the secure performance of the grid upon which it primarily depends.

Moving to a future centred on renewable energy is necessary to counteract the effects of human induced climate change and it is increasingly clear that new technologies sit at the core of our success. Given that data centres are crucial to the functioning of our digital environments there is a unique opportunity to leverage this power to give back to the grid whilst maintaining functionality, uptime and driving the overall performance of deployments.

Becoming an energy hero

The increased electrification of society means we need a way to balance growing demand for energy with the urgency for the adoption of renewables. Renewable usage on the grid requires close management given their variable nature, and this is where the large electrical capacity of a data centre can step in. By using its reserves to account for the effect of this variability, data centres can help to manage sudden disturbances in energy production and so can allow the entire grid to become greener as it makes the move to renewable energy sources. It is this ability to simultaneously reduce power failures and carbon energy usage which signifies the potential of data centres as environmental champions, instead of energy villains that only consume electricity.

The post How UPS technologies can turn data centres from energy villains to heroes appeared first on theenergyst.com.

Companies that overlook fundamental data centre modernisation practices of their physical IT infrastructure systems run the risk of unplanned downtime that can cause serious disruption to critical business processes. Uptime Institute found that almost one third (31%) of enterprises experienced an IT downtime incident or severe degradation of service in the past year. Unplanned downtime is also expensive. Uptime Institute highlighted that around 33% of outages reported costs over $250,000.

Neglecting to modernize the data center also means that organizations are failing to take advantage of technological advances that make data centers simpler, more efficient, easier to manage, and more cost-effective to operate. As IT demands change and infrastructure ages, the opportunity to get significant benefits from modernization exists.
As physical infrastructure systems approach end-of-life, the risk of downtime increases. The options for data center managers are either to modernize or outsource business functions to cloud or colocation service providers. There are three key domains that must be addressed when considering modernizing your data center: equipment hardware (electrical and mechanical), software management systems, and operations and maintenance programs. In this post, we will focus on uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs).

Rightsizing Your Data Center UPS
Much like replacing an old furnace in your house, upgrading your data center’s UPS(s) can provide not only increased reliability, but also increased efficiency and cost savings. Data center workloads (and therefore capacity needs) of 10 years ago are likely to be very different than today. They may have increased or decreased substantially based on a variety of factors, including mergers and acquisitions that boost the workload, virtualization technologies that reduce the physical server footprint, and cloud migration, which enables companies to consolidate their on-premise data center operations.
Organizations need to right-size their UPS(s) based on current and future capacity requirements. We developed a tool – Schneider Electric’s three phase UPS modernization OpEx calculator – to help organizations determine whether to keep an aging UPS or replace it based on their current UPS costs and their new capacity needs.
With easy-to-use dropdown menus, data center managers can plug in the name, model, and size of their existing UPS, factor in maintenance and electricity expenses, and toggle the dials to measure the savings that could be achieved over a 10-year span by moving to a smaller and/or more efficient model.
For example, a company that is shifting applications and storage to the cloud may consider downsizing their existing 240 KW UPS to a smaller, more efficient 100 KW model. The tool demonstrates how that company can save nearly $150,000 over 10 years. Below is a screenshot of the UPS OpEx calculator. If your load requirements have decreased as in this scenario, it is generally going to result in significant savings.

OpEx calculation on shifting from 240 KW to a 100 KW UPS model.
New technology in many cases simplifies operations and offers feature enhancements that should factor into the decision as well. A UPS with lithium-ion batteries (li-ion) is an example of a technology improvement compared to older UPSs with VRLA batteries. Li-ion technology provides longer battery life expectancy, which means lower maintenance and parts cost, and also a 50-80% smaller footprint, and three times less weight.
Tactical Considerations for Replacing a UPS
Once an organization has decided to replace its aging UPS with a more efficient, modern, and right-sized model, a variety of practical issues need to be taken into account so that the replacement goes smoothly.

These considerations should include selecting a replacement UPS that matches the existing infrastructure in terms of the physical footprint (it has to fit in the space available), along with ensuring it has the right input/output voltage to connect with the site’s switchgear. Also, make sure the UPS is IoT-enabled. By instrumenting the UPS with IoT sensors and connecting it to your data center management software platform, administrators can remotely monitor and manage the device. Of course, notify everyone who could be impacted and schedule the replacement during a planned maintenance window. While the work is being completed, ensure that there is a plan in place to transfer mission-critical workloads to another power source. Lastly, don’t forget to update these assets in management software and operations documentation.

Data Center Modernization Framework
We’ve got additional resources if you need more guidance on replacing your data center UPS, as well as best practices for a data center modernization strategy. For a comprehensive perspective, read our White Paper 272: A Framework for How to Modernize Data Center Facilities Infrastructure.

The post Why rightsizing your UPS should be part of your data centre modernisation plan appeared first on theenergyst.com.

UPS systems can be thought of as two components: the UPS electronics and the DC fuel source. In most UPS systems, the DC fuel source is a Valve Regulated Lead-Acid (VRLA) battery. Greener sources can include Lithium-ion batteries, DC flywheels and fuel cells.

The battery is there to provide immediate power to the inverter on mains power failure. It may be sized to provide power for only a short runtime allowing a standby generator to power up to full cycle (1-2minutes) or last for longer periods reaching several hours.

Disruptive individual

Many data managers assume that their UPS system ‘manages’ its connected battery set. This is partly true but typical monitoring solutions used by a UPS are firmware and therefore algorithm-based. A UPS can monitor or test the battery set as a whole but cannot identify individual batteries that may be failing. This is important because a failing battery can leak acid as its internal impedance rises and heat cracks the case.

Each individual UPS battery block has a DC voltage (typically 12V DC) and Ampere-hour rating (e.g. 100Ah). The UPS battery set comprises several individual batteries. These may be connected in series into a string (40x12V=480V DC, 100Ah) and then several strings connected in parallel, to form the set (2x100Ah=200Ah). If the total capacity of a battery set is 200Ah, the runtime available is dependent upon the actual UPS load (kVA/kW), with 480V being a sufficiently high DC voltage to power the inverter.

Collapse

As previously noted, a UPS is inherently reliable – under normal conditions. If there is an issue or alarm condition, the UPS will report this. If the condition is critical, an automatic static switch may trigger. This is a bypass arrangement configured to instantaneously transfer the inverter output’s critical load to a secondary supply (normally the mains power supply). This occurs if the inverter output voltage is seen to collapse in any way. Reasons for this may include:

• UPS overload. Most UPS inverters will take up to 150% overload for several milliseconds before the inverter starts to shut down.
• Faults with the inverter, rectifier, cooling fans or any other internal assembly that could lead the UPS to shut down and protect itself.
• The battery set being unable to deliver sufficient power to the inverter, either because of a failed battery or lack of battery charge

Worst nightmare

This last condition can be a data centre manager’s worst case scenario. If the battery set cannot deliver power to the inverter, the inverter output voltage waveform will collapse. If there is no mains power supply available, the static switch cannot transfer the load to any other source of AC power. The data centre load then crashes.

Separate battery monitoring systems are available but these may only be economical for very large UPS installations (>500kVA) due to capital costs. Some suppliers will rent them but again the cost is high. Battery monitoring systems are expensive, do not benefit greatly from scale economies and require an individual sensor to be connected to each battery block. These sensors are then wired to a central monitoring system that monitors battery block health over time, reporting and/or alerting when performance fails to meet acceptable limits.

Everything in hand

Though a fixed battery monitoring system will provide data centre managers with greater confidence in the UPS batteries, there is a simpler, more cost-effective solution. This is a hand-held battery conductance tester that a UPS engineer can use during routine preventative maintenance visits. With such instruments it is possible to test up to 40 battery blocks per hour.

Each battery block is given its own unique identifier, as is the UPS and site. The results can be stored locally on a network or Cloud for later analysis and comparison. While on-site, UPS engineers can also look for signs of heat damage (buckled plastic case) and electrolyte deposits around terminal connections.

Hand-held conductance testers can be used for a wide range of batteries and help data centre operators plan battery replacements, ensuring the integrity of their UPS systems and, more critically, battery sets.

Click here to see if you qualify for a free subscription to the print magazine, or to renew.

Follow us at @mcriticalpower. For regular bulletins, sign up for the free newsletter.

The post Think you’re ready for a power cut? appeared first on theenergyst.com.