40
(ecomode)andpremiumprotection
mode (doubleconversionmode). This
lightning-fast transfer time isquite
acceptable to ITcritical loads,which
canhandleamomentaryvoltage loss
for 15-20ms.GE’seBoost technology
improves theenergyefficiencyof
convertingAC toDCpowerby reducing
thenumberofconversionsteps
requiredwhenutilityvoltageand
frequency iswithinanacceptable
tolerance for ITequipment.
Withecomodeefficiencies topping98
to99percentcomparedwithdouble
conversionmodeoperatingat92 to95
percent levels, thesenewmulti-mode
UPSarchitecturesoffer significant
operatingexpense (OpEx)savings for
datacenters.
CanFour toFivePercent ImpactTotal
CostofOwnership?
Sodoesa fouror fivepercentenergy
efficiency improvementmakea
difference in lifecycleoperatingcosts?
Yes, especiallywhenyouemploy total
costofownership (TCO)models for
evaluatingUPSsystems.
AstudybyFrostandSullivan found
that theU.S. could reduce itsyearly
consumptionofelectricitybyup to$3
billionbysimply increasing theenergy
efficiencyofdatacenters’UPSs from
90 to98percent
(3)
.
That same researchstudied theenergy
consumptionofa50,000square foot
datacenterand found thatby
improving theenergyefficiencyof its
UPSsystemsby justa fewpercentage
points, thedatacentercouldsave
approximately$3.1million inenergy
costsover 10years .
Ifwe lookataUPSsystemdeployment
ata typical 10megawatt (MW)data
center realizing justaonepercentgain
inefficiency,wecanseeasignificant
impactover 10years. As thechart
belowshows (Figure 1),whilecapital
expenses (CapEx)are fixed, aTCO
evaluationof theOpEx for runningan
UPSover 10yearscreatesan
operational savingsof$1.4millionwhen
energyefficiency improves asingle
percent—from93 to94percent
efficiency.Withnewermulti-modeUPS
technologies thatprovideup to96.5
percentefficiency, that savingscan
jump toalmost$3.4million.
GEconducted twomulti-modeUPS
system trialsduringa three-yearperiod
fromMarch2010 toMarch2013,which
showedpositiveefficiencygains from
eBoostusage indatacenters located in
Atlanta,Ga. andLouisville,Ky. The
Atlanta facility,with twoGESGSeries
300kilovoltsampere (kVA)UPSs,
operated formore than25,000hours
with 100percentUPS reliability, running
ineBoostmode98percentof the time.
TheLouisvilledatacenter, also
operatingat 100percentUPS reliability
continuously formore than21,000
hours, using fourGESGSeries750kVA
UPSs, ran ineBoostmode95percentof
the time.
Given thatdatacentermanagersare
typically looking to reduceOpEx
numbers tocutcosts, andco-location
andhostingcompaniesare trying to
findsavingsatevery levelof their
operations to remainpricecompetitive,
thoseefficiencypercentagesmatter.
EvaluatingdatacenterOpExagainst
CapEx, particularly forenergy-intensive
equipment suchasUPSsystemswhere
electricitycostscaneasilyexceed their
purchaseprice inonlya fewyears,
demonstrateswhata fewpercentage
points inUPSenergyefficiencycan
yield.Usersarehighlyencouraged to
includeaTCO reviewaspartof their
CapExpurchaseofUPSSystems,
especially for largeUPSSystems,
225kvaandabove,whereenergyusage
costsaresignificant.
7X24MAGAZINE SPRING2014
RayPrince is SegmentBusinessLeader–Americas,UPS&CPDSystems ofGE’sCritical Powerbusiness.He canbe
(*)Notes a trademarkof theGeneralElectricCompanyor its subsidiaries
References:
Note:Thefigures cited in this articleunless otherwisenoted, arebasedon industry-standard informationordata collectedbyGE in thedeployment of critical power systems.
The results cited in this articlearenot aguaranteeof performanceor specific results, and individual resultsmayvarybasedon specifications andoperating conditions.
(1) U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency(EPA), “Report toCongress onServerandDataCenterEnergyEfficiency,”PublicLaw1090431, (2007)
(2) UpTime Institute, 2012
(3) Frost&Sullivan,Analysis of theGlobalDataCenterUninterruptiblePowerSuppliesMarket,Dec. 19, 2013
