Power Protection and UPS Blog

According to this week’s news, it’s doom and gloom for the future of food. We’re running out of wheat, rice, soya - and  curry Chefs!

That last one’s a real problem for me (he says jokingly)! Apparently, changes in the imigration laws in the UK (in particular), are making it difficult for Indian restaurants and Balti houses to source genuine, authentic and experienced cooks! Yikes! 

As far as grains and pulses go, climate change and global warming are being blamed for poor harvests around the world but an even darker threat is lurking just around the corner. Yes, you guessed it - Biofuels!

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which became law in December, mandates the use of 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022 and almost half of that will come from grain-based (corn and wheat) ethanol. In North American this is great news for the corn-growing states that will now, I fear, intensify production but not for food for fuel, easier to produce, less regulated and (I imagine) more profitable. My worry, which I have touched on before in this blog, is that food production will suffer at the hands of politics and capital gain from Biofuel production where it is being produced to replace fossil-fuel derived products (Petrol and Diesel) for vehicles.

What has this got to do with power protection? Well, firstly, did you know that the processes currently used to produce ethanol are energy intensive and thus add to, not negate, the issue of increasing demand for energy? Secondly, biofuels are being used in fuel cells, which can replace UPS batteries as an alternative back-up source. The technology is available now and whilst the origins of the fuel may be questionable, they offer a number of key advantages: harmless emissions, longer design life, less maintenance, reduced heat output and in many cases cheaper lifetime running costs.

The Power Protection Guide talks about fuel cells and their use in UPS installation.

I feel short-changed, having read the specifications and code of practice of the new business continuity standard BS 25999 from BSI. As I mentioned here the other day, problems with mains power supply are far more common than most potential disasters. Incidents of interruption in electricity supply stood at 21 million in 2006 (according to a DTI report), other disasters (such as fire, flood, terrorism, public disorder and so forth) combined could not reach that total. Securing electricity supply is not merely about installing UPS, as with BCM it requires a well thought through and planned out strategy and this is not mentioned once in either the code or specification.

I do not wish to appear to knock the standard. It is, in my view, long overdue and much needed. But I feel that by not specifying a power continuity strategy, it is left wanting. Without electrical energy there would be no business continuity for most businesses and operations. That is a fact. It should, therefor, in my view be a central theme for any BCM strategy and therefore mentioned in BS 25999.

If you want to know more about what constitutes a power continuity strategy read The Power Protection Guide.

With this year’s DataCentreWorld conference and expo approaching, I’m reminded of the difference an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) footprint can make in a data centre where every square metre must earn its keep. Had you noticed how much data centre development is happening in The Channel Islands – well, as much as pressure on building land and the constraints of a few hundred square kilometres of beautiful sea-worn rock allow! As well as the usual resilience and power imperatives, one particular comms multinational was set on the smallest possible UPS footprint. And not just because space was tight either; this particular ‘big ask’ was driven by their awareness of the commercial benefits from a 35% space saving realised by their chosen power protection installation. It’s easy to focus on savings – in this case space. But how much more positive to take a bullish gains perspective instead – and imagine the customer’s delight on realising how many more revenue-earning client racks they could get into space that might otherwise be filled with essential, but bulkier, UPS kit. It’s a salutary tale and one I’m sure I’ll re-tell more than once as I leave my footprint in Barbican Hall 1 next week.

Wednesday saw the final event in our 2008 Power Protection and Business Continuity roadshow. We closed the season at Old Trafford which remains a favourite venue for Riello UPS for a number of reasons. Our seminars are always well received and this is in no part thanks to the partners we work with who include some of the leading companies within the power protection field - UPS Systems, Vycon, Cummins, PFC Engineering, Furse, Secure IT, Denco and Sinetica. Thank you to everyone who attended. We will be posting podcasts of the various presentations to a new TEC website during 2008 and announcing details of next year’s programme in due course. In the mean time if you have any specific questions on UPS, power factor correction, generators, fly wheels, lightning protection, secure data environments, air conditioning or remote monitoring please contact us direct or visit our partner page.