I read an interesting article in the trade press last week about the potential of Lithium Ion (Li-ion) batteries for UPS applications. It seems Li-ion battery manufacturers have done much to improve the design and manufacture of these batteries and addressed some of the design flaws that have so far struck them off as a serious contender in UPS applications. Could it be that they are at last taking the potential growth in the UPS market seriously?

Reports so far focussed on the USA market suggests the market for Li-ion batteries will grow 23% per annum until 2016.

Li-ion batteries have been slow to penetrate the UPS market. They are more readily employed in portable consumer electronics, primarily because of safety concerns. Lithium is highly flammable so if the batteries are exposed to over charging or over currents, it can present a fire hazard. Cost has also been an issue (they can be 5-8 times more expensive than VRLA equivalents). Many countries do not allow Li-ion batteries to be transported by air, only overland or by sea. They are more expensive to produce than Sealed Lead Acid batteries, more commonly found in UPS systems. Due to their chemical make up and design, Li-ion batteries can present a significant fire hazard if not carefully monitored.

On the plus side, however, Li-ion batteries display rather better ‘green’ credentials than their VRLA counterparts. They are also lighter in weight and take up less space than comparably-rated VRLA battery sets (some reports suggest by as much as 50%). Li-ion batteries can offer longer back up times at higher discharge currents and are said to be less temperature sensitive (VRLA batteries require a constant ambient temperature to preserve battery life). Li-ion batteries can tolerate more and faster discharge cycles. They have no gas emissions and can operate in a totally sealed environment.

Some Lithium Ion manufacturers are now designing batteries with charging and monitoring circuits built in, which control battery charging and protect against hazardous situations from developing.

I can see the potential of Li-ion batteries and will be watching with interest how the market develops. However, VRLA batteries have been in use in UPS systems for a long time, the technology is stable and they are cost-effective. There are battery alternatives (such as flywheels and fuel cells) that are much more exciting and in my view offer a more significant alternative to batteries but a I cannot see VRLAs being replaced in UPS installations by any other battery technology anytime soon.

A couple of weeks ago, a bomb disposal team safely exploded a World War II mine, which was on-site at the Greater Gabbard Wind Farm off the coast of Suffolk. It turned out to be a 680 kilo German ground mine and an ROV (remotely operated vehicle) was brought in by ex-Royal Navy explosives experts to blow it up.

There are many areas around the British coast were unexploded ground mines from World War II are known to exist. Unlike other types of mine, or floating mines, ground mines are not designed to explode on impact, instead they employ magnetic sensors to detect the presence of an enemy submarine or ship overhead, which makes them exceptionally difficult to detect.  Areas of heavy shipping traffic, such as ports and marinas have been cleared but old mines are becoming a problem now in the light of the off-shore wind sector’s rapid expansion.

Ex-Navy and/or privately-owned bomb disposal teams are now busier than ever clearing sites for the development and expansion of new wind farms.

This article got me thinking about how important it is before any major power protection installation project to prepare the ground first with a thorough site survey. It’s extremely unlikely that land-based businesses on industrial parks or in office blocks will stumble upon unexploded bombs but you’d be amazed at how much material and information, relevant to the installation, surveys unearth.

In a tight economy, the temptation may be to either not carry out a survey at all or to massively scale it down. The installation time and costs saved as a result of the information contained within a site survey almost always far outweigh the time and costs associated with carrying it out.

A site survey will reveal all sorts to do with the complexity of the project and installation, such as logistics, environment and location and electrical installation. It covers a set of standard criterion that identify site-specific actions and information and areas requiring further investigation, all of which is documented in a formal report (a copy of which will be given to the customer for their files).

There is a long list but some of the issues a site survey can reveal are:

• The final positioning of the UPS and requirement for cranes or specialist lifting gear (stair climbers, for example).
• The existence of a low bridge on route to site and requirement to find an alternative route.
• The need for local authority and law enforcement permissions to close roads for equipment unload.
• The existence of floor loading weight restrictions (which can occur in computer rooms with raised floors) and need for reinforcement.

Nothing should ever be assumed or taken for granted when surveying a site. Wherever possible it should be completed with a site representative present, whose local and site knowledge will be invaluable. Visit our website for more details.

The importance of power conditioning within a power system cannot be underestimated and it is a little-known but very important feature of a UPS system.

At its source, mains power is ‘unclean’ and generally badly behaved and this can cause all sorts of problems within an internal power distribution system and for any equipment attached to it. It can ultimately lead to costly and disruptive breakdown or system crashes.

Power Problems

Alongside total blackouts and power failures, power problems manifest in several different ways:

• sags – short duration voltage reductions in mains power supply, which can cause computer equipment to malfunction and lead to data loss.
• Brownouts – longer duration reduction in mains power supply voltage, which can also result in equipment failure.
• Surges – these are short duration voltage increases, which can lead to system crashes from activated automatic cut-out protection within the equipment. Surges can also cause wear and tear and general equipment degradation over time.
• Spikes and transients – are fast-moving, high energy bursts (in excess of 6kVA in some instances). They last only a few milliseconds but can cause widespread and costly damage to equipment and motherboards.
• Electrical Noise – electrical noise exists in all electrical systems and if not filtered out can disrupt the operation of circuits and equipment and cause damage.
• Harmonics – harmonic pollution is a problem associated with proliferation of SMPS (Switch Mode Power Supplies) being connected to electrical distribution networks. Harmonics can cause distortion of the mains power supply voltage, overheating of building wiring circuits and nuisance tripping of breakers.

Power conditioners within a UPS system are designed to attenuate spikes, transients and electrical noise. But in environments where these problems are most severe, such as in industrial settings, for example, other types of power conditioner and/or filter may also be employed. Constant Voltage Transformers (CVTs) can be used to stabilise voltage over a wide input voltage window. This is a type of Ferro resonant design.

Other types of protection include AVS (automatic voltage stabilisers), which can protect from sags, brownouts and surges. TVSS (transient voltage surge suppressors) can be employed to guard against transient voltages and high-energy spikes. Some also have filters that protect from spikes, transients and electrical noise. Standard filters and filter strips may be employed in some installations to protect against spikes, transients and electrical noise but rather than attenuating performance, they ‘clamp’ peak voltages to predefined, acceptable levels.

A power quality review, prior to embarking on a power protection project, upgrade or change to your power protection plans, is recommended as it will reveal essential information pertinent to the design and configuration of your new system. For more information, visit our website.

There’s been a lot written in the press recently about Ofgem’s move towards cleaning up and radically reforming the energy industry. The regulator launched a retail market review earlier this year. In early August came the announcement that it was paving the way towards an enforceable standard format for utility bills and ensuring transparency for consumers.

The energy watchdog set about undertaking market research to identify best practices, language and formats to support enhanced clarity and engagement, which will form the new rules for billing and identify those key words or phrases that either help or hinder consumers in understanding their bills, annual statements and price rises.

It is often the case that energy users (business and consumer) fail to get the best deal because they are confused by what’s on the bill and are ‘bamboozled’ by the technical detail presented. Many energy users are resigned into a state of acceptance of what they are getting – whether or not it is the cheapest and best tariff for them. The number of tariffs being offered by energy companies has increased from 180 in 2008 to around 400 in 2011.

The ‘big six’ (British Gas, Npower, E.on, EDF, Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern Energy) energy companies are being blamed for monopolising the market through complex billing and tariff practices, not allowing consumers to make more informed decisions and allowing smaller companies to be competitive in the market. Ofgem is pushing for a market overhaul in 2012.

Accountants BDO have been brought in to examine how the profits of the big six are calculated to find out if retail profits have been deliberately underestimated to justify higher energy bills. Ofgem claims it has evidence that the big six have increased prices in response to rising commodity costs more quickly than they reduced them when those costs fell. Five of the big six have recently announced price increases equivalent to 15% for the year.

Given the amount of money businesses spend on electricity, can they really afford to wait until next year to reduce their bills?

At Riello, we employ a team of UPS Technical Energy Consultant (TEC). These are experts in the role power protection plays in business continuity planning and they can help customers design, install and manage the most energy efficient power solution that will save on energy bills from a wide range of Uninterruptible Power Supplies and Standby Power Systems, generators and automatic transfer switches. We can also carry out energy surveys and advise you on how to reduce your energy use. For more detail, visit our website or follow the links above.

It has come to my attention, lately, that there are a number of data centres in operation running UPS ten years old or more. While UPS can have long design lives in excess of this figure, installing high-end servers, such as Blade servers, which offer greater efficiency, lower PuE and smaller footprints can pose a serious problem for older UPS.

I understand the need to get more from less and high-end servers offer that, but without reviewing the entire power protection system before installing such equipment, data centres are opening themselves up to being vulnerable to the incompatibilities between the power handling features of their old UPS system and new server equipment.

Power factor (pf) is one issue. Older UPS may be designed to work with equipment with a lagging pf, whereas new Blade servers offer a leading pf load. In some instances this incompatibility may not be obvious (as the UPS will continue to power the load) until there is a power cut and the UPS load increases, at which point it may fail. It could also affect the UPS’s control loop stability and cause unstable operation and load transients. The UPS’s ability to detect and isolate a failed UPS in a parallel-redundant system may also be compromised and battery life decreased. Also, the measuring and monitoring of power data may be affected and thus any information supplied unreliable.

Over the last decade manufacturers have made huge advances in designing UPS systems and equipment specifically for these dynamic and high-end environments that offer well-matched power handling capability and much higher power efficiencies.

It is important to stress that whenever new equipment is brought into a data centre, its effect on upstream and downstream equipment, including UPS, should be considered.

Riello has recently extended our range of energy saving data centre power systems by introducing a 60kVA and an 80kVA into our Multi Sentry range. The range has been designed for high-density demands and high-pressure environments, such as data centres and telecommunications applications. It offers unbeatable energy efficiency in online mode, which could save up to 50% in energy use per annum when compared with a ten-year-old UPS. It has been designed for environments with limited power capacity, generators and problems associated with harmonics. It has no impact on upstream power supply and acts as a power filter and phase-shift protection device.

Multi Sentry is rated Level 6 on our unique Eco Energy Level Scale and has a small footprint of just 0.4m2. Advanced battery optimisation features extend the average working life of the battery set, thus reducing lifetime management costs. For more details, visit out website.

SMEs should implement efficient UPS to achieve cost savings and reliable power protection

It’s been reported in an article on ELN (www.energylivenews.com) that Energy Minister Charles Hendry has been forced by his Shadow counterpart (Huw Irranca Davies) to concede that the Government’s energy policies could add as much as 43% to the average electricity price paid by small to medium businesses by 2020.

His revelation coincides with a predication by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) that SMEs will be lumbered with nearly a quarter increase (24%) on gas prices.

Just how far will the Government allow these prices hikes to go?

A month ago, Scottish Power became the first to inflict horrendous, double-digit price hikes on its customers and last week British Gas followed suit. It’s only a matter of time before the other four of the big six (E.ON, EDF, Scottish and Southern Energy) do the same. It will mean the average dual fuel bill will have risen by 50% since 2007 to nearly £1,500 per annum.

For business energy users, now is the time to fix a price with energy suppliers and/or switch to another, more competitive tariff. Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne is fighting to open up the energy market to smaller players and make it more competitive. Quoted in an article in the Telegraph earlier this week, he said: “The energy market has been too cosy for too long and it is madness that 99% of people get their energy from large firms.”

But what does this mean for UPS (uninterruptible power supply) customers?

Older UPS equipment is not as energy efficient as newer models. Any system between 5-10 years should be considered old in terms of energy efficiency.

Since 2007, UPS manufacturers have been introducing new products designed around energy efficiency and reducing TCO (total cost of ownership). Older UPS could be responsible for consuming 18% of the total energy used in a typical data centre. And when you consider the average data centre can consume as much as 2MW of energy per hour, it’s a considerable amount.

Modern UPS waste less energy in the conversion process and can be as much as 40% more efficient than their older counterparts (depending upon various load and operating criteria). Many UPS are as much as 96% efficient in online mode, a rating that can rise to 99% when running in certain other economy modes.

Efficiency is not just about energy use it takes into account maintenance, floor space, scalability, flexibility and TCO. Modern UPS incorporate microprocessor technology that enables smarter, intuitive management and allows remote interrogation by users giving them more control over operation, and thus, the ability to proactively manage and influence efficiency.

Today’s UPS are smaller in size and lighter in weight, which reduces building and installation costs. They leave room for easy serviceability and maintenance – key to reducing lifetime costs. How a UPS draws energy from the mains (termed Input Power Factor) can influence energy efficiency. It should be rated high (0.99). The higher the input power factor, the lower the reactive power (wasted energy). How a UPS utilises energy while protecting loads also influences efficiency, as does how they deal with Total Harmonic Distortion (THDi) to produce a pure sinewave input current that reduces energy wastage. The management of consumables (such as batteries, fans and capacitors) so that they are replaced less often serves to reduce operating costs overall.

Return on investment on new UPS can be as low as 2-3 years. Upgrading to new UPS models equates to an investment in equipment designed for more reliability, that meets the latest regulations and standards, offers more features, better performance, increased power protection, higher efficiency and lowest TCO. For sure, the best antidote to the dilemma of rising energy costs coupled with the need for greater power protection.

Smart meters are the UK Government’s first step towards a smart grid for all homes and businesses by 2020.

Declining natural reserves and increases in energy use have made it necessary to fully understand energy requirements, manage power demands, increase energy efficiency and reduce waste. Smart meters will enable a host of information to be collected by users and energy suppliers in order to streamline supply.

But a smart grid will also give energy suppliers more control and there are growing fears for how this will affect the vulnerable. If users are late paying their bill, in effect, the supplier could cut off their supply with the flick of a switch (or more likely, click on a computer screen) at central control. This could happen to businesses suffering a temporary cashflow crisis too. But it could also happen by mistake or deliberately if a hacker manages to crack the system and bring down supply.

Mistakes can happen. But currently users (vulnerable or not) have at least some control over supply. Outside of a disaster or unforeseen circumstances, energy supplies cannot be cut off that easily. What if the survival of the business depended upon it? Most businesses would suffer greatly without a continuous supply of clean electricity.

The smart grid will come, not doubt about that, and it is a necessary and good thing in delivering a more optimised and efficient energy supply but how rules of supply (whether suppliers will be able to cut you off by mistake or not and the consequences of doing so) and security issues (how systems will be protected against hacking) are currently up in the air.

At the beginning of July 2011, the National Audit Office was reported in Computer Weekly as having said it expected the cost of implementing smart meters across the UK to exceed the current budget (estimated at £11.3bn). To date, the Government has a poor track record with infrastructure and computer systems. The office also questioned how a significant change in consumer behaviour, demanded by the new system, would be stimulated.

In May, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) issued a notice to IT suppliers telling them to be ready to bid for work under the GB Smart Metering Implementation Programme (SMIP). SMIP is the system that will manage all of the smart meter data, allow users to manage their energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions.

A recent survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit revealed antipathy amongst energy consumers to the Government’s smart meter plans. Consumers fear energy price rises as a result and are unconvinced they will save financially through it. There are also mounting security fears in the light of recent high-profile breaches. The Energy Networks Association is calling for a more coherent and joined up approach to securing the smart grid than is currently in place.

The issue around smart meters for businesses galvanises the point about ensuring security of supply by installing UPS (uninterruptible power supply) and on-site power generation. By so doing, they give themselves complete control over energy security, while still being able to enjoy the benefits of a more optimised and ‘smarter’ national grid system.

Jellyfish are currently proving to be the greatest threat to continuity of supply for nuclear power stations the world over. They have so far been responsible for at least three reactor shutdowns in recent weeks and scientists are expecting more.

Two weeks ago, EDF was forced to shut down its nuclear power plant in East Lothian Scotland due to a jellyfish invasion entering its cooling systems. Both units at Torness Power Station were manually shutdown on 28^th June 2011 as a precautionary measure. EDF reported that there was no impact on the environment or the public. However, the clean up operation took over a week to complete and for the plant to be operational again.

Torness has two Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors but it also relies on sea water to ensure it operates safely. Filters prevent seaweed and marine animals from entering the cooling system but they became clogged by the jellyfish, which meant the reactors had to be shut down to comply with safety procedures.

Since the closure of Torness, other reactors in Japan and Israel have also had to be shut down because of jellyfish.

The city of Hadera, Israel, was plunged into darkness when the Orot Rabin nuclear power plant’s cooling system was invaded by Jellyfish. The same happened at the Shimane reactor in Japan. It comes only months after an earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused lethal explosions and ultimately closure at the Fukushima nuclear complex.

In some articles I’ve read, Scientists are saying that massive blooms of jellyfish in summer months are normal and that these incidents are purely coincidental. Environmentalists, however, seem to be making a link with global warming and even going so far as to claim that the Jellyfish are natures army sent to fight the nuclear cause.

The positive side to this is that leatherback turtles (a protected species) are thriving, enjoying the rich food source Jellyfish provide.

However, what’s clear to me is that this is yet another endorsement of the fact that there are always lurking threats to power supply and that nuclear reactor shut downs can happen at anytime and for any reason – many which we cannot even begin to imagine. Businesses need to be ready with their own power protection, back-up systems and onsite generation if they are the ensure continuity through disaster – be it a Jellyfish invasion or anything!

A news item in DatacenterDynamics caught my eye today: according to a recent survey released this month by The Ponemon Institute in the USA, 65% of the 41 USA-based data centres it surveyed (2,500 square feet and above) cited UPS battery failure as the biggest cause of unplanned downtime in the past two years.

The most costly data centre outage during that time cost its operators over $1million (around £620,000 at today’s values).

The survey looked at costs associated with the impact on productivity, legal and regulatory consequences, lost confidence and stakeholder trust (among others).

Although the $1m is at the top of the range ($39,000 was reported as the lowest), the survey concluded that the average cost of data centre downtime is $5,600 (around £3,472) a minute. The average incident length was 90 minutes.

Sadly, I have to agree that this reflects our own experience. A high proportion of the UPS failure call outs we deal with (that are not supported by a maintenance contract) are as a result of UPS battery failure because the batteries have either not been checked by the operator or an alarm signal has gone unheard.

As part of a maintenance contract, Riello UPS schedules regular maintenance visits by experienced and qualified engineers who check battery condition as standard and replace any batteries that are showing signs of wear and/or are not holding charge. A maintenance contract with remote monitoring enables us to be alerted by the remote monitoring system whenever an alarm is signalled. We can deal with the problem before it causes downtime – and save our data centre customers a lot of money according to this survey.

If you want to know more about UPS remote monitoring or the true value of UPS maintenance contracts, visit our website.

In January 2010, energy watchdog Ofgem introduced new rules for business energy contracts, which were designed to protect small businesses (in particular) from unscrupulous practices and unclear terms and conditions from energy suppliers. The new rules gave small businesses (those that consume less than 55,000kWh of electricity a years and have fewer than 10 employees) greater powers to negotiate better deals and contracts from their suppliers. However, the new rules were not retrospective, so businesses had to wait until their contract was up for renewal or they took out a new one.

Whether your contract is up for renewal or not and whether you’re a small business or not, January is always a good time to carry out an energy review or get one done for you. There are lots of companies offering free energy reviews for business customers. Free, however, often comes with a sales pitch at the end of it so beware. An alternative way of getting a more relevant energy review is to pay a professional supplier to carry one out for you or do it yourself (if you have the internal human resources available). What should it include:

First of all, you need to compile a detailed questionnaire covering:

Company/Site information: nature of the business, type of operations that go on site, hours of business, number of employees, floor area, details of any current energy saving initiatives (even if it’s just asking staff to turn off the lights), details of any previous energy surveys and the results, specific areas that you would like to address (such as cutting energy use in server rooms by 30%, for example).

The questionnaire should then log details from your energy bills such as peak rate and off peak rate charges and how much you used in the last twelve months. It should also detail any other fuels used on site such as gas, LPG, diesel and so on. Does your business pay any climate change levy (CCL)?

Then move on to details about building construction: wall fabrication, steel, floor, roof structure and type (pitched, flat, angled), is there a loft? What about roof insulation? What are the window frames made from? Log details of any double-glazing, insulation, draught-proofing and any other relevant information about the building itself (raised floors, false ceilings and so forth).

The next part of the review should detail all aspects of heating and hot water usage: type of boiler, heating, controls, hot water cylinder, insulation, immersion heating (and timings), air-conditioning, thermostats and piping.

The next part of the survey focuses on lighting, what type is installed (tungsten, halogen, fluorescent bulbs, strip lighting, outside lighting), rating, quantity of energy used by each type and the typical hours in the day in which they are illuminated alongside any problems you have experienced associated with lighting.

The final part of the survey detail any miscellaneous energy use by such equipment as: PCs/IT equipment, refrigeration, motors and drives, catering appliances, compressed air, domestic white goods, laundry appliances (if applicable).

Lastly (but most importantly), you need to log details of power protection systems: UPSs, on-site generators, batteries and other alternatives (fuel cells, flywheel UPS etc.). Study history logs: when and how often did you need to rely on them? What is their age and condition (now is a good time to do a thorough battery test as even one faulty battery can compromise the whole string)? Is your power protection adequate for your anticipated needs?

An energy review will put you in a better position to implement energy efficiency and power protection measures that address actual and specific areas of your business. It will enable you to save cost in the long run without diminishing productivity and to negotiate better deals with you energy supplier.