As data centres comprise a high proportion of an organisation’s power consumption, and UPSs are major components within them, optimising UPS efficiency can contribute significantly to an effective green strategy. However, this efficiency objective can conflict with the equally critical need for very high availability within Tier lV installations. So, how can mission critical sites balance these imperatives effectively? As part of a series of video interviews, Mission Critical Power asked Kohler Uninterruptible Power’s Read more…
Can next generation UPS increase resilience through modularity?
A flexible and truly modular approach to Uninterruptible Power Supplies has never been more important. With the increasing digitalisation of industry – combined with the rapid expansion of the data centre market – first generation infrastructure designs are falling short of current needs and are not flexible enough to meet future demands as they evolve, according to Socomec’s Phil Dunn. Furthermore, not all UPS technologies that claim to be ‘modular’ offer ‘true modularity’. In the Read more…
Evolving challenges for data centres
MCP asked Schneider Electric’s Marc Garner: what are the current challenges facing data centres and which technologies are coming to the fore to solve them? For internet giants, colocation providers and many end-users, the key data centre challenges are around speed to market, scalability and energy efficiency, according to Marc Garner, vice-president of Schneider Electric’s IT Division for the UK. “The current boom in data means that many of these companies cannot build fast enough Read more…
The Catalyst for change…
An EU funded project has developed a ‘Green Data Centre Assessment Tool’ and is seeking to remove barriers to participation in grid services, such as frequency response. Carbon3IT managing director John Booth provides an insight… The Catalyst project aspires to turn data centres into flexible, multi-energy hubs that can sustain investments in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. Leveraging on results of past projects, Catalyst will adapt, scale up, deploy and validate an innovative technological Read more…
Delving into the data centre of the future
Equinix’s David Hall says we must build data centres not only to power the immediate global data demands but to anticipate and meet sustainability demands of an increasingly connected world… The internet now reaches an estimated 56% of the world’s population – a figure 9% higher than in January 2018. With the advent of 5G and promised download speeds of up to 10Gb/s, contributing to with a proliferation in connected devices, the levels of data Read more…
Making data centres part of Singapore’s sustainable economy
Singapore needs new data centres and a sustainable economy. These two objectives do not need to conflict. An obvious start may be to make ageing data centres more efficient or simply shut them down. A less obvious solution could be cross-border carbon offsetting, says Ed Ansett from i3 Solutions Group… Beginning in about 2000, big inward investments paved the way for Singapore to become the dominant regional data centre hub with a thriving commercial data Read more…
Data centres and the global climate emergency
Are data centre boardrooms taking climate change seriously enough and what impact is the increasing use of digital technologies having on electricity consumption? How should data centres and consumers respond? A recent Ipsos Mori poll shows that 85% of Britons are now concerned about climate change, with the majority (52%) saying they are “very concerned”. Three in four believe that Britain is already feeling the effects of climate change, up from 41% in 2010. In addition, Read more…
Rolls-Royce enters partnership with 2G Energy in gas-powered generators sets
The Power Systems business unit of technology group Rolls-Royce has sealed a contract of cooperation with 2G Energy, specialist in gas-powered generator sets and CHP modules based in Heek in North Rhine-Westphalia. The contract covers the mutual supply of gas-powered gensets. Rolls-Royce is to procure from 2G gas-powered generator sets and cogeneration modules in the 250 to 550 kW power range with and without heat extraction. After adding its own controllers and other specific components, Read more…
Dirty energy: are data centres driving demand?
A group of data centre experts recently highlighted the impact of data centres on the global carbon footprint, in a discussion on climate change at the Data Centre Dynamics conference, held in London. The panel of experts were asked for their views on whether data centre boardrooms are taking climate change seriously. Andy Lawrence, from the Uptime Institute, believes it is taken seriously in Europe and among consumer facing US companies, such as Microsoft, Equinix and Read more…
Wind power crucial to growth of Ireland’s data centre sector
The Data Centres Ireland conference has highlighted the key role that wind power will have for the data centre sector in Ireland – driving down the cost of energy, supporting future growth, and facilitating the Government’s pledge to generate 70% of electricity from renewables by 2030. According to Dr David Connolly, Ceo of the Irish Wind Energy Association, around 35% of energy now comes from renewables, in the region. Speaking at Data Centres Ireland, Dr David Read more…
Ireland’s data centre sector shows growth despite Brexit uncertainty
A recent report by Host In Ireland has highlighted the continued upward trend of data centre construction in Ireland despite a fall in overall construction activity. The quarterly report with input from Bitpower outlines Ireland is on course to secure a Euro 4.5 billion investment from data centre construction by 2025 despite Brexit which has had significant knock-on effects for the rest of the construction sector. According to the most recent Ulster Bank Construction PMI Report Read more…
Cyxtera collaborates with Fujitsu
Cyxtera Technologies, the secure infrastructure company, has announced that it has collaborated with Fujitsu to offer PRIMERGY servers with Nutanix Enterprise Cloud on its CXD on-demand data centre platform. The new offering aids enterprise IT customers by lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO) for hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) by an estimated 25-50% while enabling capacity to be added on a pay-as-you-grow consumption model. Channel partners will also be able to offer customers this solution and Read more…
Circuit breakers offer optimised energy management
ABB has extended its range of moulded case circuit breakers (MCCBs) for the UK with the new SACE Tmax XT that offers higher performances, protection, metering and connectivity features up to 1600 A. These new products have been designed with the aim to provide tangible values throughout the entire customers’ journey, from selection and installation to daily use and diagnostics. SACE Tmax XT breakers are claimed by the company to offer “new standards for extreme breaking Read more…
Partnership will leverage AI to deliver power efficiencies to data centres
Virtual Power Systems (VPS), creator of Software Defined Power (SDP) has announced that its Intelligent Control of Energy (ICE) platform with phase balancing has been fully integrated into the newest power solutions from Artesyn Embedded Power, an Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. company. This is yet another example of the strategic and interdependent partnership formed as part of the ongoing collaboration between the two companies. In addition to ongoing technology collaborations, VPS and Artesyn have delivered Read more…
Schneider partners with Scale Computing on micro data centre solution
Schneider Electric has announced its partnership with Scale Computing to deliver the Scale Computing HC3 Edge for retail solution in Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Micro Data Centres. Developed to make edge computing more accessible and affordable for organisations of any size, Scale Computing’s HC3 Edge virtualisation platform will be deployed in EcoStruxure Micro Data Centres to help retailers optimise all in-store functions and enhance the customer experience. Shipped fully integrated and ready to deploy, this certified pre-integrated Read more…
Protecting patients at Musgrove Hospital
Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton is the home of Somerset Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (SNICU), a specialised ward for the treatment of premature and sick new-born babies within Somerset. SNICU is situated in the maternity building of the hospital and divided into two different areas: intensive and special care. There are 18 cots in total. Knight Electrical is a specialist contractor in power systems integration, undertaking generator controls and all forms of installation and site Read more…
Maincubes plans new ‘carbon-neutral’ data centre in Frankfurt, Germany
Maincubes is expanding its European network of data centres with a new data centre for the Frankfurt Rhine-Main area (FRA02), which will focus on sustainability. Approximately 8,500 square meters of colocation white space are to be built on five floors – with carbon-neutral operations, providing customers with a highly secure and climate-friendly facility for their ICT infrastructures. According to Maincubes, the data centre will achieve a PUE ratio of well below 1.3. More and more Read more…
Riello UPS rewrites rules of flexible power with new Sentryum range
Leading standby power specialist Riello UPS has launched its third generation of transformerless UPS systems. The new Sentryum series comes in 10-15-20 kVA models and combines efficiency and performance in a compact footprint which maximises battery autonomy in a single cabinet. Offering outstanding online double conversion UPS protection, the Sentryum is perfect for small data centres and similar mission-critical sites. It builds on Riello UPS’s best-selling Multi Sentry range, with a reduced number of components and Read more…
The first line of defence for MV systems
If you work with medium-voltage (MV) switchgear or cables, a handheld partial discharge (PD) scanner provides a reliable way of detecting insulation faults before they progress to potentially dangerous failures. The scanners measure PD activity, a reliable early-warning indicator of insulation deterioration. Good scanners can use a range of internal and external sensors, which means that they are exceptionally versatile, and the best have intuitive software. PD scanners are particularly suitable for use in transformer/distribution Read more…
Maintaining UPS efficiency at low loads
Modern transformerless UPSs offer significant energy efficiency improvements over their earlier transformer-based counterparts, with consistently high efficiency levels over most of the load spectrum. Even so, if their load is allowed to drop below about 25 percent of their capacity, efficiency starts to reduce sharply. Solving the problem However, the problem can be solved by modular UPSs that support a feature called Xtra VFI – a smart way to minimise losses and improve efficiency when Read more…
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