The future of Availability
GENSETS
Following recent events of power failures on infrastructures such as the muchpublicised Heathrow airport incident, people have started to question the real purpose of critical power infrastructures and the importance of the technology behind the systems. The key point is that companies purchase UPS because they have a critical load that requires clean, continuous power, reports Michael Brooks, Managing Director, MPower UPS.
main purpose of the UPS: to maintain availability. Power protection systems must be avail-
R
able every second of every day and therefore maximizing system availability must be the overriding objective and the technology and configuration used can significantly affect availability. Whilst transformer-less technology has become mainstream today, the market is increasingly moving towards implementing modular UPS design. The fastest growing market sector we see, is mid-range three phase modular systems. This is because, properly configured modular systems simulta- neously maximise load availability and system efficiency. We anticipate flexible, modular systems will increasingly replace traditional stand alone and parallel systems with the drive for high availability, fast repair and commonality of parts, as well as reduced system footprint. The fact is that a UPS system can be extremely reliable, but when a fault eventually does occur, then the system can fail completely and lose load power or transfer to bypass, leaving the critical load vulnerable on raw mains. The idea when it comes to modular systems is that there is a single frame, containing a number (N) of power modules, all running together and sharing the
Michael Brooks, Managing Director, MPower UPS.
eliability is not the only important factor in power protection system design. The future direction of the industry will always be driven by the
load equally between them all. By utilising a true N+1 configuration, a failure in one module simply results in that module being isolated, leaving the remaining modules supporting the load and maintaining the all-important avail- ability. By configuring the system with more mod-
ules than actually needed to power the load, one module failure simply results in the load being shared out amongst the remaining modules. We have recently introduced the new CENTIEL CumulusPower UPS, incorporating Distributed Active Redundant Architecture which provides a vast improvement over previous system designs. Each module contains all the power elements of a UPS – rectifier, inverter, static switch, display and critically all the control and monitoring circuitry. This places it above other current designs which have a separate, single static switch assembly and separate intelligence modules. The single, separate static switch module,
as used in some of the most common modular systems is of most concern, as all load power must pass through it, whether the system is on inverter or on static bypass – it becomes a single point of failure. Centiel Intelligent Power Modules therefore ensure that there is no single active component as a point of failure. A further issue with some existing modular designs is that the synchronisation, current sharing and control communication between
“We have recently introduced the new CENTIEL Cumulus
Power UPS, incorporating Distributed Active
Redundant Architecture which
provides a vast
improvement over previous system designs.“
Michael Brooks, Managing Director,
MPower UPS CENTIEL.
the different power modules, intelligence modules and static switch modules are at risk of disruption by a failure in any one of many components within the communication loop. In comparison, CumulusPowerTM has multiple redundant communication paths between the modules. This ensures that a fault within one path does not disrupt system operation and simply generates a warning. Regardless of the UPS purchased, the
system must always be in peak operational condition. Because all systems contain both electrical and mechanical components which degrade over time, it is essential that they receive routine preventative maintenance inspections. Some components (e.g. cooling fans and batteries) will have a finite working life and will require proactive replacement if a UPS system’s availability and reliability are to be maximised. The good news is that when it comes to CumulusPower modular systems, mainte- nance is made much simpler. A module can easily be removed from the UPS frame, while leaving the remainder to support the load. This obviously eliminates the risk to the
critical load by being on mains, but also eliminates the risk of human error while carrying out the switching procedure between UPS and external bypass. The CumulusPower Intelligent Power Modules are not only constructed with high specification long life components, but are specifically designed with the engineer in mind to facilitate easy field replacement of capacitors and fans. One of the greatest challenges faced by designers is how to future-proof their system by enabling it to adapt to the changing needs to of the site or critical load. Rack-mounted modular UPS systems can
be quickly and easily reconfigured to allow the power protection system to adapt to load changes, ensuing maximum availability and efficiency now and in the future.
www.mpowerups.co.uk
26 SEPTEMBER‐OCTOBER 2017 UK POWER NEWS
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