ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
Longer-term collaboration with suppliers With healthcare, it’s better to think about longer-term collaborations with suppliers. The lifetime of a larger UPS is approximately 15 years. It will be due a major service every five years, where capacitors and fans will be replaced, and it should have a maintenance check twice a year. Batteries tend to need to be updated every seven and a half years. Sometimes, we find customers
are just not aware of system requirements or compliance. We see it as our job to supply and support – but also to educate. There have been developments in system design, technology, and product advancements, so we are getting more requests for advice. Installing your system requires thought and planning – for the technical requirements and physical positioning, so that customers can get the best use of the system and be assured of its reliability.
Room planning and environment UPS maintenance is critical, yet often, the positioning of units is not considered to ensure that the environment is optimal for performance and maintenance. When thinking about your site and your system design consider the positioning of your UPS. Ideally, the space needs to be /
have: n Clean and dust-free. n Dry. n At a controlled temperature. n Fire-protected. n Vibration-free. n An adequate air flow. n Manufacturer’s defined clearances for maintenance.
Is there a better, greener way?
Energy-saving ‘smart modes’ for UPS Today, UPS systems can be run in smarter, energy-efficient modes. The challenge is working out which mode really works to offer you the ‘greener’ option. This can sometimes be confusing, as they all have different names, and no two ‘eco’ systems perform in the same way. Some UPS systems run in an ‘eco’ mode. In this mode, the UPS remains in standby mode until the power is interrupted. Eco mode is suitable for equipment that will not be affected by a break in the power. It is often promoted, as it gives good headline efficiency figures, but is rarely used in practice as it doesn’t work where critical power is required. There are also smart modes where the system manages the load across different
64 Health Estate Journal February 2024
Kohler UK describes the PW8000 DPA as ‘a widely proven, highly reliable’, three-phase UPS built for low to medium, high-density power protection applications. It offers ‘high energy efficiency, 99.9999% availability, and flexible scalability’, in either a tower or rack-mountable solution.
redundancy requirements, and reverting unneeded modules to standby, Xtra VFI avoids this. Intelligent switching rotates active modules, equalising ageing, and extending service life. Kohler Xtra VFI mode offers 2-3% additional efficiency if the load drops. This option is included with the exceptionally resilient, flexible, and scalable (from 50kW - 1.5 MW), high power modular UPS KOHLER PW 9250DPA, which offers the best- in-market energy efficiency (97.4% efficiency) in regular VFI mode. This energy efficiency redefines the lifetime cost for high-density applications such as medical facilities – reducing environmental impact, optimising Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) measures, and delivering significant financial savings in energy and cooling costs, without compromising the reliability of the power protection capabilities.
Seek a partner with in-depth knowledge There are a lot of considerations and challenges installing and maintaining systems in an ever- changing healthcare environment.
modules and puts those not needed into standby. Kohler’s smart eco mode, known as Kohler Xtra VFI mode, is a great option for those who require critical power supply, but that have variable loads. Often, when the load falls below 25%, UPS efficiency rapidly deteriorates. By automatically adjusting the number of active modules according to load and
Collaborating with suppliers and consultants who understand current and future challenges, and who can make this decision-making process much simpler, is vital. Ideally, you will want a partner with in-depth knowledge, extensive experience, and a comprehensive choice of solutions that will fit the healthcare facility’s specific needs.
Kohler Uninterruptible Power and Alex Emms
Backed by Kohler Co’s 100+ years of power protection experience and innovation, Kohler Uninterruptible Power is well resourced and well positioned to provide the necessary depth of advice and support. It provides expertise, remote support facilities, and an extensive network of field service engineers ‘offering fast, 24/7 availability.’
Alex Emms is Technical director at Kohler Uninterruptible Power. He has over 30 years’ experience of the UK power protection sector, and has been with KUP since 2000. Starting as a Field Service engineer, he subsequently progressed to roles including senior engineer, Supervisor, Service manager, Operations director, and now Technical director.
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