Published on Friday, Dec 18 2009 by
Modular UPS systems are experiencing rapid growth and will account for a third of new installations by 2013, predicts Uninterruptible Power Supplies Ltd (UPS Ltd).
"Modular rack format technology currently accounts for around five percent of new mid range UPS system installations, but with greater market focus on efficiency, flexibility and total cost of ownership, we expect an increase to at least 30 percent in five years," said Peter Bentley, sales director at UPS Ltd.
The modular concept can deliver major reductions in data centre electricity consumption and CO 2 emissions, and alleviate the burden on their stretched cooling systems by continually matching the capacity of UPS systems to their respective critical loads.
Modularity enables firms to 'right-size' their UPS system and add capacity when power needs change, without the need for additional floor space. This scalability ensures both energy efficiency and the correct loading for today's needs without having to invest in over capacity.
"Many older UPSs employ out-of-date technology and are often sized incorrectly for today's needs," commented Bentley. "Inefficiencies mean that companies could be burning excess electricity and creating needless heat emissions, costing thousands of pounds and compromising efforts to reduce their carbon footprint."
Modular UPS systems are 'hot-swappable', meaning that modules can be safely inserted or removed without disconnecting power or transferring the critical load onto the raw mains supply. This considerably reduces mean time to repair (MTTR), minimizing downtime and enhancing the availability of the UPS system and the critical load that it supports.
"Today's 24/7 'on-demand' environment relies on continuous, high quality power, but with interruptions to the mains becoming increasingly frequent, the challenge is to deliver 'six nines' (99.9999 percent) availability," said Bentley. "Transformerless, modular UPS systems with true hot swap capability ensure supply of the most reliable conditioned AC power to the critical load."
After introducing the world's first 3-phase modular UPS to the UK market in 2001, UPS Ltd. last year launched the PowerWAVE9000DPA T . The system efficiently protects critical loads that have leading power-factors, such as blade servers which are increasingly being adopted by data centres.
For further information contact Peter Bentley, Uninterruptible Power Supplies Limited, Bacchus House, Calleva Park , Aldermaston, Berkshire RG7 8EN , United Kingdom . Telephone: +44 (0) 118 981 5151. Fax: +44 (0) 118 981 5152. E-mail: sales@upspower.co.uk or visit http:// www.upspower.co.uk