During such sensitive times as the 2012 Olympics there will be no second chances for business continuity planners who will have to design systems that can cope with a range of scenarios, not least of which is a massive load increase on the electricity supply chain.

To help organisations prepare for the 2012 Olympics and the anticipated drain on supply, Riello has expanded our Master Switch range of Static Transfer Switches (STS) to include models up to 400A. Used in isolation or with a combination of uninterruptible power supplies and generating systems, the extended Master Switch range is ideal for use in projects that require the highest possible levels of resilience and protection of critical loads including data centres, security, surveillance and transportation systems.

For more information on our Master Switch range, click here.

The Olympic Games start today in China. I wonder how many people realise just how important uninterruptible power supplies are to their every day activities. Take the new Beijing Airport. This now has over 12MVA of Riello uninterruptible power supplies supporting a range of functions, all designed to move people, plans and baggage as safely and as smoothly as possible. The installation is a great reference site for Riello UPS and demonstrates the silent part we play in making sure some of the world’s greatest events happen – without a glitch.

The jury is still out on this one. A new report – World Flywheel UPS Markets – has just been published on the subject, looking at the global market and sales of flywheel energy storage systems within power quality applications as backup devices. Flywheel are great in principal but there are some barriers to overcome when used as part of a power continuity plan. The primary weaknesses are the higher capital cost and low runtime available. The first means that the devices are only really suitable for large applications of several hundred kVA or more – (with uninterruptible power supplies such as the Riello Master Plus UPS). Secondly, they have to compete as a substitute product against sealed lead acid batteries which can offer minutes and hours of runtime rather than just several milliseconds. Sure, flywheels do have a compact footprint and offer a ‘green’ technology but their benefits only really accrue over several years use – think battery replacement and disposal. So, my view is that if the flywheel industry finds some way of cost-effectively extending the runtime available and/or lowering the entry barrier costs, they may be onto a more competitive winner.