Data centre operators, like any other business, are under continuous pressure to improve their energy efficiency. This is partly due to rising fuel costs, but also because shareholders, business partners and employees expect to see credible green policies in place – and there’s also government legislation to control energy efficiency through a range of financial incentives and penalties.
As a major equipment item, a UPS system’s energy efficiency is an important component of a data centre infrastructure’s overall electrical demand. Accordingly, modern UPS designs typically include several techniques that work together to maximise their energy performance. As a result, leading UPS suppliers like KOHLER Uninterruptible Power are now achieving up to 97.6% module efficiency, and 97.4% UPS system efficiency.
The first step towards improved UPS efficiency came when advances in power semiconductor technology and improved PWM based waveform generation techniques allowed a move to transformerless UPS topologies. These uninterruptible power supplies are now available in modules rated up to 600kW and rising. The change immediately improved UPS efficiency to 95% or better over the entire 25% to 100% load spectrum.
Transformerless UPS technology has further possible energy-saving benefits. The booster rectifier and IGBT semiconductors it uses to produce an input power factor much closer to unity and less load-dependent than that generated by transformer-based UPS types. Transformerless UPS systems reduce the size of the cabling and switchgear and, in some instances, reduce the electricity running costs. Another, related benefit is that the input current harmonic distortion (THDi) is considerably reduced – from 30% to less than 3.5%.
Since then, further UPS technology advances have been added. A three-level bridge output filter can raise UPS efficiency to 97.2%, while further measures raise this again, to 97.6%. These include interleaved modulation to reduce semiconductor switching frequency and optimisation of semiconductor ratings. Additionally, passive filters have been reduced in size.
The above techniques relate directly to the UPS installation’s core electronics, but other approaches can be used as well. One of these is Eco mode, in which power from the mains supply is fed directly to the load, bypassing the UPS rectifier and inverter during normal operation and eliminating their inefficiencies accordingly. If a mains power supply problem is detected, the critical load is switched to the inverter output.
While this can increase UPS efficiency to 99%, most data centre operators avoid using it because it exposes the load to any incoming main problems throughout most of its operational life. Additionally, it relies on the load’s IT equipment power supplies having sufficient capacitance to ‘ride through’ the switches between the mains and inverter.
Another approach relates to uninterruptible power supplies operating significantly under capacity. Most UPS installations’ efficiency drops sharply if their load is reduced to 25% or less. In KUP UPS systems, a mode known as Xtra VFI can be enabled; this automatically adjusts the number of active UPS modules in line with the load requirements. UPS modules consistently remain loaded to adequate levels. Any that are not needed are switched to standby but remain in a state of readiness, primed to kick in and transfer to active mode if the load increases or the mains fails. In calculating the configuration for maximum UPS efficiency, the uninterruptible power supply allows for any desired redundancy level.
Any improvement to uninterruptible power supplies energy efficiency will automatically bring further energy benefits. Because its losses are being reduced, the UPS solution will run cooler, so the amount of energy and cost, needed for air conditioning or cooling is reduced.
For more information about data centre UPS systems range or our uninterruptible power supply services please contact us on +353 (0)1 4606859 or email your enquiries to [email protected].
