Editors:
George Navarro, Eaton
Brad Thrash, GE Digital Energy
Contributors:
Lynn Simmons, Dell
John Collins, Eaton
David Loucks, Eaton
Dusty Becker, Emerson Network Power
Bill Campbell, Emerson Network Power
Harry Handlin, GE Digital Energy
Andrew Lynch, Gexpro
Pam Lembke, IBM
Shaun Harris, Microsoft
Stephen McCluer Schneider Electric
Jim Spitaels, Schneider Electric
Keith Klesner, The Uptime Institute
As energy costs rise and the desire to be “green” increases, the need for energy efficiency is becoming more prevalent. Data center operators are reviewing certain aspects of their data centers, including power distribution systems and, in particular, uninterruptible power supply UPS systems, to identify opportunities to boost efficiency.
Many options to incrementally improve power system efficiency are available to data center operators. These options typically involve either removing or moving components in the power path, changing an aspect of data center operations (such as raising the distribution voltage), or using more efficient components. The Green Grid Data Center Maturity Model includes specific recommendations on many of these potential efficiency improvements in the power system.
This white paper addresses one of these efficiency improvement opportunities in depth: Eco Mode operation for three-phase, facility-scale UPSs. An alternating current (AC) UPS can have several modes of operation, of which one is so-called “Eco Mode.” Different levels of efficiency and performance are achievable with the different modes. Typically, Eco Mode is the highest-efficiency mode. This white paper focuses on Eco Mode in data center–level, three-phase UPS systems; it does not address smaller, single-phase UPSs.