ICT Engineering Experts Compare Class 4 Fault Managed Power to Data Center AC Power Infrastructure
A recent technical analysis examines the use case of powering a 6MW data center using traditional AC infrastructure versus new FMP infrastructure. A parts and labor summary concludes that using FMP can generate multimillion-dollar savings for operators. Fault Managed Power (FMP) is a relatively new topic of conversation in information and communications technology (ICT) circles. The recognition of Class 4 power in the 2023 National Electrical Code has raised the profile of FMP and the topic has been high on the agenda of many ICT industry conferences, articles and educational materials. But the technology itself is more than ten years old and has more than a thousand implementations in multiple environments and applications. On May 2, at Cabling Installation & Maintenance, the sister brand of Data Center Frontier at Endeavor Business Media, hosted a webinar where part of the discussion focused on the use of FMP in data centers. The practical, technical and economic case of the FMP
Known for being energy-intensive facilities, data centers may not be the first environment that comes to mind when we think about FMP uses and capabilities. But in this webinar, sponsored by VoltServer and presented by VoltServer’s Vice President of Business and Market Development, Ronna Davis, along with Southland Industries Principal Electrical Engineer, Michael Starego, a practical, technical and economic case was presented for the use of FMP in those spaces. Specifically, Starego compared and contrasted the typical AC power infrastructure for a data center with that of an FMP-based infrastructure. The image above is from the presentation portion of the Starego webinar. Also in his presentation, Starego discussed how to power a 6 megawatt data center using traditional alternating current vs. FMP. This analysis includes a parts and labor summary that concludes that using FMP can result in savings of several million dollars. The data center analysis took about 20 minutes of the one-hour webinar. FMP and digital electricity
For the rest of the time, VoltServer’s Davis discussed the essential elements of FMP technology and the relationship between FMP and Digital Electricity™. Digital Electricity is a registered name of VoltServer; Fault-managed energy is a generic terminology for digital electricity. The two are often used interchangeably. It also detailed the practicality of using FMP in other environments and applications, including campuses and outdoor spaces, parking lots, shipping ports, airports, warehouses and distribution centers, office environments and industrial facilities. If you are among the many ICT professionals who have not yet considered failover managed energy as a potential energy source for a data center, it may be worth investing an hour to watch the webinar. The presentation is available to see until October 2024. It is possible to register and start seeing the web seminar here. Stay up to date on the rapidly evolving world of data centers and cloud computing by connecting to Data Center Frontier on LinkedIn, following us on X/Twitter and Facebook, and signing up for our weekly newsletter using the form below.
