There is no denying that data centers are a crucial part of everyday life. Did you also know that data center operators cannot afford power loss for longer than 15 milliseconds? To get such reliability in power supply, data center owners are constantly looking for the latest technologies and smart solutions.
To achieve such high-level availability, the electrical network of data centers requires all kinds of equipment: switchgear, uninterrupted power supply (UPS), generators, transformers, and batteries. Naturally, all this equipment requires a lot of space.
For any data center owner who wishes to benefit from the latest technology – to gain not only reliability, but also energy efficiency – building a new facility from scratch is the ideal starting point. Unfortunately, a greenfield approach is not always feasible nor practical. Placing the data centers in already existing building puts stringent requirements on space optimization.
There is good news for those who are faced with repurposing an existing space. There are a variety of solutions to apply to keep control of costs, availability and reliability, while maintaining flexibility. The key is to take full advantage of standardization and modularity of the power supply equipment.
Containerized solutions, which are ideal for pay-as-you-grow strategies used by colocation data centers, are also struggling with space requirements. To maximize the use of space inside the electrical house (eHouse), products with reduced footprint are ideal – as they might even make it possible to reduce the dimensions of the whole installation.
ABB has combined two vital pieces of equipment for power supply into one; merging low-voltage switchgear and modular UPS, to a product known as MNS-Up. Switchgear is composed of electrical switches, fuses or circuit breakers and are used to control and protect electrical equipment. Their reliability is directly linked to the reliability of the entire power supply system. A UPS system provides emergency power, in the event of main input power source failure.
ABB’s MNS-Up has several benefits compared to a conventional approach. First and foremost it offers up to 30 percent smaller footprint. It is also cost-efficient with up to 10 percent Capex cost savings, and it is up to 20 percent faster to install.
To learn more, please read our white paper on “Optimizing operations with low-voltage switchgear combined with modular UPS systems”.
