Driven by the wave of digitalization, high-density data centers, as the core hubs for data storage, processing, and transmission, are becoming increasingly important. For high-density data centers, a stable and efficient power supply is crucial to ensure their normal operation, and rack-mounted UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) plays an indispensable role in this regard. How to improve the energy efficiency of rack-mounted UPS in high-density data centers has become a focus of attention in the industry.

Challenges of High-Density Data Centers to Rack-Mounted UPS

Equipment in high-density data centers is highly concentrated, leading to a sharp rise in power demand per unit area. This makes rack-mounted UPS not only need to have strong power supply capacity but also operate efficiently in limited space. At the same time, if a large amount of heat generated in the data center cannot be dissipated in a timely manner, it will have a negative impact on the performance and service life of the UPS, thereby affecting the stability of the entire data center. In addition, high-density data centers have extremely high requirements for business continuity, and any short-term power outage may lead to serious economic losses and business risks.

Energy Efficiency Optimization Strategies

1. Selection of High-Efficiency Equipment

Choosing high-efficiency rack-mounted UPS equipment is the foundation for improving energy efficiency. Currently on the market, UPS with high-frequency double conversion technology has become the first choice for many high-density data centers due to its advantages of high input power factor (greater than 0.99) and excellent overall efficiency (up to 96%, and even 99% in ECO mode). Compared with traditional industrial frequency UPS, high-frequency UPS has significant energy-saving effects. Taking a 6KVA load as an example, it can save more than 2,000 yuan in electricity bills annually (calculated at an electricity price of 0.8 yuan / kWh). Meanwhile, UPS with a wide input voltage range (such as 100-288VAC) can effectively avoid battery discharge caused by voltage fluctuations, extend the battery service life by 30%, and reduce operating costs.

2. Reasonable Configuration and Redundancy Design

Accurate UPS configuration based on the power load requirements of the data center is crucial. By accurately evaluating the total power, peak power of the equipment in the data center, and future expansion needs, select a UPS with an appropriate capacity to avoid energy waste caused by "using a large horse to pull a small cart". Adopting N + 1 or 2N redundancy architectures can not only ensure high reliability of power supply but also reasonably distribute the load and maintain the normal operation of the system when some UPS fail. In some financial data centers, the rack-mounted UPS system with a 2N redundancy architecture has achieved 99.99% availability, effectively ensuring the continuity of financial transactions.

3. Intelligent Management and Monitoring System

Introduce an intelligent management and monitoring system to keep track of key parameters such as the operating status, load rate, and battery power of the UPS in real-time. Using these data, dynamically adjust the UPS through intelligent algorithms, such as automatically adjusting the output power according to load changes to achieve efficient operation. When it is detected that the utility power quality is good, it will automatically switch to ECO economic mode, at which time the overall efficiency can be as high as 99%, with significant energy-saving benefits. The intelligent management system can also issue fault warnings in a timely manner, facilitating maintenance personnel to handle them quickly, and reducing energy waste and business interruptions caused by faults.

4. Heat Dissipation and Thermal Management Optimization

Good heat dissipation is crucial to ensure the efficient and stable operation of the UPS. In high-density data centers, optimizing the heat dissipation design and thermal management of the UPS is of great importance. On the one hand, select UPS equipment with an efficient heat dissipation system, such as those with an intelligent fan redundancy design, which can automatically adjust the fan speed according to the equipment temperature, ensuring both heat dissipation effect and reducing fan energy consumption. On the other hand, optimize the overall thermal management of the data center. Through cold and hot aisle isolation technology, ensure that cold air can be accurately delivered to the UPS equipment, improve heat dissipation efficiency, and reduce air conditioning energy consumption. In a large-scale Internet data center, by optimizing thermal management, the overall PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) of the data center has been reduced by more than 10%.

Case Study Analysis

A data center in the Philippines adopted the Daopulse brand's DPR high-frequency double conversion technology rack-mounted UPS, combined with an intelligent management system and a thermal management optimization scheme. After one year of operation, the data shows that the PUE value of the data center has decreased from 1.8 to 1.5, saving more than 500,000 yuan in electricity bills annually. At the same time, the failure rate of the UPS has been significantly reduced, from 5 times a year to 1 time, effectively ensuring business continuity and improving service quality.

Conclusion

In high-density data centers, by adopting a series of energy efficiency optimization strategies such as selecting high-efficiency equipment, reasonable configuration and redundancy design, intelligent management and monitoring systems, and heat dissipation and thermal management optimization, the energy efficiency of rack-mounted UPS can be significantly improved, operating costs can be reduced, and the reliability and stability of the data center can be enhanced. With the continuous development of technology, the energy efficiency of rack-mounted UPS in high-density data centers will be further improved, providing a solid power guarantee for the sustainable development of the digital era.