Power supply is a critical component of a DATA CENTER. Like anything else that requires electricity, Data Centres rely on power for almost everything. No power supply = no Data Centre.
There are a number of factors to consider when selecting a power supply for a Server Room. The Data Centre’s power supply must meet power demands and guarantee reliability and security while optimising costs. The development of an intelligent power supply chain ensures that these requirements are met.
To ensure that everything in the Data Centre runs smoothly at all times, facility managers need to ensure a constant supply of clean, uninterrupted critical power.
Typical DATA CENTER power supply infrastructureMost Data Centres draw their electricity from the wider municipal electricity network. The facility will then have one or more transformers to draw power, while ensuring that the incoming power has the right voltage and the right type of current (usually converted from AC to DC).
Some Data Centres supplement their power from the wider grid or eliminate it altogether with on-site power generation equipment in the form of stand-alone generators or alternative energy sources such as photovoltaic panels and wind turbines.
The power is then transferred to the main switchgear, which houses fuses, automatic protection and leakage current protection units. Further on, power is distributed to a number of end points, such as uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems.
Not only does a UPS help to ‘clean up’ pulsating electricity, ensuring that problems such as surges do not affect equipment, but each UPS is responsible for providing power to multiple circuit breakers. In a standard Data Centre environment, no more than seven or eight servers are connected to a single circuit breaker, but this number will depend on both circuit breaker capacity and server performance.
UPS systems also serve as an initial backup in the event of a power outage or similar problem. A typical UPS can supply power to servers and circuit breakers for up to five minutes; this provides enough time for an emergency generator to be operational immediately following an outage or similar problem with the wider electrical grid.
Backup power supply in Data Centres
To ensure uninterrupted uptime and to minimise downtime as much as possible, most Data Centres have a backup power source on site or nearby. More often than not, the backup power comes from a fuel generator, which itself runs on petrol or diesel.
How much energy does the Data Centre use?
For Data Centres to run continuously and without interruption, managers need to consume a lot of electricity. According to one report, the entire Data Centre industry consumes more than 90 billion kilowatt hours of electricity each year. This is equivalent to the output of about 34 coal-fired power plants.
Globally, 3% of all electricity consumed worldwide goes to Data Centres. This 416 terawatts is significantly more than all the electricity consumed by the whole of the UK.
There are several reasons why energy consumption is so high – and growing – in Data Centre environments. It is not only the servers and other critical pieces of IT equipment that require a lot of energy to run, but also all the supporting equipment. Lighting, cooling systems, monitors, humidifiers, etc. all need electricity and can sometimes add to energy bills.
Power Usage Efficiency (PUE)
To determine how much electricity in the Data Centre goes to servers compared to non-IT equipment, facilities measure energy intake and efficiency of energy use using a Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) score. A score of 1 means that every iota of energy in the Data Centre goes to servers and nothing else, while a score of 2 means that support equipment uses as much electricity as servers and other IT components.
