57
distributed-reversedualbus, ituses
static transfer switchesas thepower
tie; however, insteadofcreating
redundancy throughdistributed
primaryUPSsystems, itusesa
secondaryor reservesystem toprovide
dual-busprotectionacrossmultiple
primaryUPSsystems
(Figure7)
. The
result is lower initial costs thanother
dualbusapproacheswith increased
powerequipmentutilization.
Other lesscritical facilitiesmay
consideraparallel redundant
configuration, suchas theN+ 1
architecture—inwhich “N” is the
numberofUPSunits required to
support the loadand “+1” isan
additional unit for redundancy. This
architectureprovidescost-effective
scalability.
ADVANCINGEFFICIENCY
Fororganizationsseeking tooptimize
datacenterefficiency,Emerson’s
EnergyLogicprovidesa
comprehensive, vendor-neutral
approach toachievingmeaningful
reductions indatacenterenergycosts.
ItmaximizesROI through the “cascade
effect” inwhichefficiency
improvementsat the ITcomponent
level cascadeout to reduce the
demandonpowerandcooling,
magnifyingsavings.
Powerandcoolingsystemscanbe
configured to increaseefficiency, either
within the frameworkofEnergyLogic
or independently.Doubleconversion
UPS topologiesdeliverbetter
protection thanother typesofUPS
because theycompletely isolate
sensitiveelectronics from the incoming
power source, removeawider rangeof
disturbancesandprovideaseamless
transition tobackuppower sources.
With thecombinationof improved
operatingefficienciesand theuseof
Active InverterEco-Mode™, these
robustpower systemscanachieve
efficienciesof98%. Inaddition,
intelligentparallelingcan improve the
efficiencyof redundantUPSsystems in
aparallel configurationbydeactivating
UPSmodules thatarenot required to
support the loadand takingadvantage
of the inherentefficiency improvement
availableathigher loads.Additional
efficienciescanalsobeachieved in the
distributionsystembybringinghigher
voltagepowercloser to thepointof
use,minimizingstepdown losses.
Coolingwasonce incorrectly identified
as thechiefvillain in thedatacenter
energycrisis, but today’s technologies
deliveroutstandingefficiencyby
leveraging four trends.
1.Coolingcloser to thesourceofheat
Ahigh-densitycooling infrastructure
thatenables rack-centriccooling
modules tobeplugged inasneeded
bringsunparalleledscalabilityand
efficiency todatacenter thermal
management. Thenext step in this
migration is integrating thedatacenter
coolingsystemwith theserver, allowing
heat tobe removedbefore it leaves the
rackandeliminating theneed for server
fans.
2.Higher-efficiency,more responsive
componentsandsystems
Newer roomcoolingunitsusingdigital
compressorshave theability toadapt
theircapacity tochanging room
conditions, eliminating theon-and-off
cyclingofpreviousgenerationsystems
thatwastedenergyand increased
componentwear.Electrically
commutated (EC) fans in theseunits
havealsobeenproven to reduce fan
powerconsumptionby 18% to30%
compared tovariabledrive fans.
3. Increaseduseofoutsideair
Usingoutsideair toprovide “free-
cooling”cycles reducesoreliminates
chilleroperationorcompressor
operation inprecisioncoolingunits,
enablingeconomizer systems to
generatecoolingunitenergysavingsof
30% to50%, dependingon theaverage
temperatureandhumidityconditions
of thesite.Whileoftenconsidered
primarilyacoldweather solution,
economizerscanprovidebenefits in
more temperateclimatesaswell.
4. Intelligentcontrols
Intelligentcontrolshaveenabledashift
fromcoolingcontrolbasedon returnair
temperature tocontrolbasedon
conditionsat theservers. Thiscanallow
temperatures in thecoldaisle tobe
raisedcloser to thesafeoperating
thresholdnow recommendedby
ASHRAE (max80.5°F). Smarter
controlsalsoallowmultiplecooling
units towork together, shifting
workloads tounitsoperatingatpeak
efficiencyandpreventingunits in
different locations fromworkingat
crosspurposes.
CONCLUSION:BRINGING IT
TOGETHERTOOPTIMIZE
PERFORMANCE
Justabouteverydatacenter today
facesaproblemof “notenough.”Not
enoughpowerandcoolingcapacity,
notenoughspace, notenoughcapital,
notenoughvisibility intooperations,
notenoughexpertiseornotenough
time forplanning. Insomecases, not
enoughofallof theabove.
Nosingle technologyor skill setor
processchangecan removeallof the
constraints thatpreventorganizations
fromoptimizingdatacenter
performanceandefficiency.Butwhen
people, processand technologyare
addressed throughasystematic review
andevolutionofdatacenter
management skills, processesand
technologies, eachof thoseconstraints
canbeeffectivelyovercome.
PeterPanfil isVicePresident,Global PoweratEmersonNetworkPower.He canbe reachedat
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