FEATURE UPS & STANDBY POWER
UPS AND THE FUTURE OF POWER MANAGEMENT
Carly Wills interviews Mike Byrnes, director of sales and service, EMEA cloud and data centre segment, Eaton
Carly Wills: What are Eaton’s main aims and objectives? Mike Byrnes: We provide energy- efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more efficiently, safely and sustainably. We aim to improve quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services. We operate within a broad range of segments and sectors, including data centre, cloud and IT, commercial and residential buildings, marine, oil and gas. Also, manufacturing segments such as CPG, automotive, aeronautical and hi- tech.
CW: What are Eaton’s sustainability goals and how close is the company to achieving them? MB: Since 2016 we have published an annual sustainability progress report that records progress against all our sustainability initiatives. We are performing strongly and are focused on innovations that help our customers attain their own sustainability goals.
CW: What sets Eaton’s apparatus apart from other companies? MB: Our customers trust Eaton to deliver the highest reliability, quality and energy efficiency over terms of 15 years and more. They also trust our global service capability, and combined it translates into lower costs of ownership than they experience from any of our market peers. Over such long periods, the initial cost of the products and services are actually a small part of the total cost of ownership and, given so much recent change on the energy supply side, it is inevitable that our customers will appreciate the agility we can now enable for the next 15-20 years.
CW: Is Eaton’s tech just suitable for data centres or is it used in other applications? MB: Our focus on technical innovation has continued to meet customers’ ever-growing needs, through
12 JUNE 2019 | ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
development of advanced patented technologies that are not limited to data centres. Our UPS technology improves energy efficiency for any large mission critical application, such as hi-tech manufacturing, healthcare, and rail and marine. But an application does not have to be large scale. We power virtualised IT systems such as computer rooms, and the edge of carrier networks.
CW: Is Eaton setting up modular UPS so it can be added to, to increase capacity? MB: Modular is not new to Eaton as we were a pioneer of modular UPS’s. Innovations in our software, controls and connectivity enable our modular UPS’s to work as systems. Whilst it can help scale capacity in a more linear way, the major benefit is to enhance efficiency.
CW: What do you think will be the next big trend in power management? MB: Intelligent interconnection between grids and businesses is essential – that is where we are focused.
CW: Do you think Brexit will have any implications? MB: From my perspective, leading our data centre business, no. Market forces relating to the digital transformation of businesses and sustainable energy sources are probably Brexit-proof. Digital paradigms, such as the cloud, are really borderless, just like the information and power networks it is built upon.
CW: What do you think battery technology will move on to? MB: For the moment, it seems to be a battle of the chemistries and tough to call. But I am sure that new nanotechnologies will play a role in creating a future inflection point beyond the current Lithium-ion push. The market is super fragmented but highly innovative - we are only at the dawn of the era. Vehicles are the clear number one driver of battery technology and so advancements required to economically refurbish vehicle batteries for second or
third life applications are really important too. This is something we are already focused on with our business partner Nissan and its ‘Leaf’ batteries.
CW: How can we ensure that technology keeps up with consumer demand? MB: Our lifestyles are ever more reliant on digital. As we move to electric vehicles and renewables, our relationship with domestic electrical power will further evolve. Our homes will be places where power is more essential and I expect that systems like Eaton Xstorage will be as common place in homes as a gas boiler is today, within the next 20 years.
CW: How do you see the future of UPS progressing? MB: Digital adoptions and sustainable power trends will mean that underlying power management technology will have many more applications, like Xstorage. A UPS is really a power management platform that has been type cast – fulfilling mainly mission critical power applications in a once static environment of stable grid, diesel generators and lead acid batteries. UPS technology is well positioned for future applications. But right now demand for current applications remains very high and is accelerating.
Eaton
eaton.com
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