Why Modular UPSs make financial sense
If a reliable power supply is important to
maintain the uptime of your company’s electronics and other critical infrastructure
then the chances are you’ve considered a UPS (uninterruptible power supply)
system.
For many South African companies, the
decision is not whether to invest in a UPS, but in which UPS system.
Up to now, traditional, centralised UPSs
have been the default choice, sometimes configured with two or more units in
parallel when emphasis is placed on redundancy.
This has changed with the arrival of
modular UPS systems which offer all the benefits of traditional UPS
configurations - and more - for a small initial price premium.
Take N+1
reliability for example. Modular UPSs present a better, more reliable solution
than conventional UPSs – even parallel-configured UPSs - because multiple modules
are able to provide additional layers of redundancy.
What’s
more, hot-swappable modules ensure a very fast mean-time-to-repair (MTTR) because modules can be returned to the manufacturer for a quick
service. A failed module will not jeopardise the entire system or require a
lengthy and costly service crew call-out.
Then
there are the not so obvious benefits of modular UPSs to consider. These
include:
Scalability
– you only buy the modules you require today, but there is always the option of
adding modules to accommodate future growth as your needs increase.
Efficiency
– UPSs reach their maximum efficiency at a load of around 80%. This means that if you’re running a UPS below
this you are literally wasting power and money. Modular UPS systems engage the
most appropriate number of modules (no matter how many are installed) in order
to achieve the optimum load/efficiency ratio.
This has
a dramatic effect on the electricity consumption of your data centre. Cost
savings are significant and could amount to as much as R6.00 per kVA per day. So,
if you’re running a 50kVA load you could save up to R 9,000 per month on your electricity
bill.
Many of these benefits are sometimes
overlooked given the small price premium they command. However, the extra initial
cost associated with a modular UPS solution will be more than compensated for in the long
term. A modular UPS thus makes perfect financial sense.
Find us:
No comments:
Post a Comment