implications. With the stakes so high and investment in UPS systems so widespread it’s strange to think that organisations could allow something as trivial as a battery to trip them up. Yet, despite their best efforts to maintain and test battery life, many organisations succumb to the problem. The primary cause of unplanned outage is UPS battery failure - it’s responsible for more than a third of all UPS failures during the system’s lifecycle.
Awareness of the problem is widespread; IT managers are familiar with the challenge but many admit that the battery is the ‘weak point’ within their UPS system. Their reliance on VRLA Batteries is understandable – they’ve been the default option for decades and have historically proved a reliable and effective option. However, the evolution of the e-business, allied with a stuttering economy and increasing emphasis on environmental responsibility, has added greater complexity to companies’ management of data infrastructure – and the routine use of traditional Lead Acid Batteries may inadvertently be at odds with modern business objectives.
The business thermostat IT managers are under renewed pressure to find operational efficiencies in the data centre or server room setting. Success requires a focus on resilience and business continuity – and a UPS provides robust reassurance in that regard. However, the driver for efficiency also dictates the need to optimise space, conserve energy and meet corporate responsibility commitments to reduce the carbon footprint. The latter two objectives go hand-in-hand; by conserving power the damage to the environment similarly reduces. Moreover, by using less power, energy bills naturally fall – delivering yet another important efficiency.
The goals to improve efficiency and environmental sustainability have triggered a trend towards increasing the ambient temperature of the data centre. In recent years the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers has incrementally revised the recommended allowable
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temperatures for defined data centres – with maximum high-end temperatures moving from 25°C in 2004 to 45°C by 2011. As the recommendations are implemented globally, companies’ use of air- conditioning units has reduced and energy consumption has fallen. On the face of it this is great news.
“Lead Crystal Batteries last
3-5 times longer than VRLA.”
As clear as crystal IT Managers continue to grapple with seemingly divergent challenges only to find that, in the perceived absence of an alternative, they naturally gravitate back to Lead Acid Batteries. But the solution is, quite literally, as clear as crystal: lead crystal.
Lead Crystal Batteries (LCBs), a relatively recent introduction to the UK (but proven over many years of installation in Africa and Far East), promise a much longer life than traditional solutions, lasting 3-5 times longer than VRLA. More importantly, the technology behind LCBs means that they can withstand extreme temperatures from -40°C to +65°C. Although extreme heat naturally impacts battery life, LCBs can easily deliver a service life of at least 7.5 years at a continuous +40°C.
However, there is a major drawback: the increase in temperatures has a detrimental impact on the life of LABs. In many cases, a Lead Acid Battery designed to protect a system across its ten-year lifecycle will only last 2½ years at +40°C, and less than two years at +45°C. This not only increases the risk of unexpected failure, it invites all the associated disruption, cost and downtime of a planned outage to replace the existing batteries. Whilst companies spend exorbitant amounts of time and money monitoring battery life, the implications of replacing batteries when an issue is identified cannot be overestimated.
In response, companies have looked to relocate the batteries outside of the data centre environment. This, in turn, can help optimise space and bolster server infrastructure. However, the approach remains flawed and self- defeating. To work optimally, Lead Acid Batteries must be maintained at a low ambient temperature – which means the new location itself must have effective air-conditioning. In effect, it’s the efficiency equivalent of giving with one hand only to take away with the other.
The implications for IT Managers are manifold. Primarily, companies can reliably mitigate the risk of unplanned power outage. In addition, IT staff can increase the ambient temperature of computer rooms without having a significantly detrimental effect on battery capability. This can, in turn, reduce both energy bills and carbon footprints. Moreover, LCBs can minimize the disruption of replacement downtime and the associated costs of disposal. The science behind LCBs means they require very little maintenance. Although companies are unlikely to jettison their battery testing and monitoring protocols, their frequency could be significantly reduced – helping to shrink burgeoning maintenance costs.
The advance of LCBs is perhaps the most exciting development in the battery market in thirty years. Their deployment can undoubtedly deliver substantial cost savings and operational gains for businesses looking to optimise their data infrastructure. For too long, IT managers have looked in vain for a better alternative to Lead Acid. Thankfully, the future is here. There’s no longer any need for a crystal ball – a crystal battery can recharge the data centre/server room environment, safely, reliably and cost-effectively.
www.harlandsimonups.com DATA CENTRE MANAGEMENT | 29
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