Power System Challenges in Mission Critical Installations
Lifecycle Cost Challenges
Challenge Underlying problems
Optimize capital investment and available System requirements are
space difficult to predict and
systems are frequently
oversized.
Accelerate speed of deployment The planning and unique
engineering involved takes 6-
12 months, which is too long
when compared with the
planning horizon of the
organization.
Lower the cost of service contracts Service contracts on unused
or underutilized equipment
are wasted.
Recover from false start or low ROI projects It is very difficult to downsize
or move a project once it is
underway, but changing
business issues frequently
require such changes.
Bill users for power It is desirable but currently
impractical to charge users
based on their actual power
consumption.
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their respective owners.
Power System
Requirements
Modular systems that grow
with the requirement.
Pre-engineered solutions
that eliminate and/or simplify
most planning and
engineering.
Right sized systems that can
be scaled rapidly with
changing requirements
would reduce over sizing and
the wasted service contracts
associated with underutilized
equipment.
Modular and portable power
infrastructure that can be
moved to other facilities
when required.
Power metering
 Power System Challenges in Mission Critical Installations

Adaptability / Scalability Challenges

Challenge Underlying problems Power System
Requirements
Reduce the extensive This engineering is time Pre-engineered solutions that
engineering required for consuming, expensive, a key eliminate and/or simplify most
custom installations source of downstream quality planning and engineering.
problems, and it makes it
very difficult to expand or
modify the installation later.
Plan for a power density Industry projections of power System design that can be
that is increasing and density requirements show easily adapted, even retrofit,
unpredictable great uncertainty but new to power high density racks
data centers must meet which might be isolated
requirements for 10 years. cases or widespread in the
future
Adapt to ever-changing Different power requirements, A rack power infrastructure
requirements voltage requirements, outlet that allows quick and tool-
requirements, even the need less changeover for different
for DC may occur at any time voltages, power capacities,
in any rack. outlets, and DC.
Manage the proliferation of In a dual path system there Higher power distribution to
branch circuits may be 6 or more branch the rack, eliminate re-wiring,
circuits per rack, and these and provide local and remote
circuits are constantly being metering.
rewired.
It is very difficult to keep track
of this high quantity of
changing branch circuits and
particularly to determine if
they are overloaded.
Cope with the increasing Data centers and network Better quality breakers, pre-
number and poor quality rooms use the same types of installed and tested.
of circuit breakers breakers for branch circuits
that are used for
residential/light industrial
applications.
These breakers are not of
high quality, frequently do not
meet their specifications, and
are used in such a high
quantity that their
shortcomings become a
statistically significant part of
data center down-time.

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their respective owners.
 Power System Challenges in Mission Critical Installations
Availability Challenges
Challenge Underlying problems
Minimize human error Uniquely engineered, poorly
documented systems.
Changing requirements
require rewiring of live
systems.
Minimize points of failure between UPS and Large centralized systems
critical load remotely located from the
load with complex output
power distribution systems,
creating the need for
additional redundancy
features in the distribution
system such as static transfer
switches.
Reduce failure points that drop customers Large centralized systems
simultaneously with complex coordination
among circuit breakers create
a condition where faults can
unexpectedly propagate
across systems.
Eliminate harmonics Large centralized UPS
system that presents a large
harmonic load to the utility,
switchgear, and backup
generators; creating
unexpected interactions and
requiring over sizing.
Uncertainty regarding the
magnitude and effects of
harmonics in the IT loads.
Learn from past problems and share learning Uniquely engineered systems
across where learning on one
systems system cannot be transferred
to another. No clear way that
solutions for one customer’s
problem are communicated
to other similar customers.
© 2011 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. All trademarks provided are the property of
their respective owners.
Power System
Requirements
Pre-engineered solutions that
have comprehensive
documentation and mistake-
proofing features.
Systems that minimize the
number of breakers and
amount of wiring between the
UPS and the loads.
Systems that minimize the
number of breakers and
amount of wiring between the
UPS and the loads, and that
are pre-engineered and
tested for breaker
coordination.
UPS systems with input
power factor correction.
Loads that have input power
factor correction.
Distribution equipment that is
pre-engineered to handle
harmonics and is protected
against harmonic overload
problems.
Pre-engineered standardized
systems where learning is
shared through manufacturer
notifications and automatic
upgrade procedures.
 Power System Challenges in Mission Critical Installations
Manageability Challenges
Challenge
Management of power at the outlet level
Monitor power attributes at the rack level
Provide predictive failure analysis
© 2011 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. All trademarks provided are the property of
their respective owners.
Underlying problems Power System
Requirements
Unauthorized use of unused Ability to control power at the
outlet receptacles creates outlet level, along with pre-
unexpected overload engineered and easy to use
conditions. tools to monitor and control
Some IT equipment requires large numbers of outlets.
power-cycling to maximize
performance or to reset from
hung-up conditions.
Powering down certain loads
according to a schedule for
security or energy
conservation is a manual and
tedious process.
Difficulty in determining racks Graphical user interfaces and
that have high thermal loads automatic notification which
and near overload racks. report, manage, and notify
Difficulty in associating based on parameters at the
branch circuit loads with rack level.
racks due to constant
reconfiguration.
For dual path systems,
difficulty in determining
whether remaining circuits
will overload when one path
goes down.
Most power components fail Instrument the power system
or trip unexpectedly. in a way that provides
No advance warning is advance warning of
provided that could allow component failures.
corrective actions that might In the case of consumable or
prevent load loss. finite-life items, automatically
notify regarding remaining
expected life and
replacement intervals.
 Power System Challenges in Mission Critical Installations

Serviceability Challenges
Challenge Underlying problems Power System
Requirements
Decrease Mean-Time-To- Spare parts are not readily Modular systems using
Recover (includes repair available. Large systems that standardized spare parts that
time plus technician require complex disassembly are inventoried on-site or
arrival, diagnosis, and process to diagnose and to locally.
parts arrival times) repair. Simple repair procedures that
do not require complex
disassembly.
Simplify the complexity of Systems are so complex that Standardized systems with
the system service technicians and in- standardized switchgear and
house maintenance staff make standardized nomenclature.
errors and drop loads when Pre-engineered and pre-tested
operating and maintaining the control systems that don’t take
system. a lot of time to set up.
Status of the system cannot be
easily determined or
communicated during a crisis.
Third party control systems are
complex and unique and are
never thoroughly tested,
resulting in unexpected
behavior during fault conditions
Eliminate hot work The need to frequently change System should adapt to
branch circuits, combined with changing voltage, power, and
the need to keep loads running outlet requirements without the
7x24, creates the need to re- need for re-wiring on live panel
wire circuits on live panel boards.
boards. This creates the
opportunity for many types of
human-error failures, and a
serious health hazard.
Minimize vendor interfaces Power systems often involve 10 Pre-integrated and pre-
or more vendors and it manufactured systems where it
becomes difficult for in house is clear who is responsible for a
and even vendor personnel to problem.
determine which vendor is
responsible for a problem,
leading to the wasting of time
and money.
Learn from past problems Uniquely engineered systems Pre-engineered standardized
and share learning across where learning on one system systems where learning is
systems cannot be transferred to shared through manufacturer
another. notifications and automatic
No clear way that solutions for upgrade procedures
one customer’s problem are
communicated to other similar
customers

© 2011 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. All trademarks provided are the property of
their respective owners.