Supergrid Across Europe Needed to Revolutionise Renewable Energy

Europe is the world leader in renewable energy generation but to overcome the problem of supply reliability, without having to resort to traditional fossil fuelled power stations, a Europe-wide supergrid is required to link several diverse sources of renewable energy onto one electrical grid. When a wind farm cannot supply power on a windless day, a solar farm might be able to compensate, for example. It would also reduce power prices for consumers and make supplies more secure.

Such a grid, however, requires long-term thinking, joined up international politics and huge investment, which is unlikely in the current economic climate.

Security of electricity supply can be mitigated by installing UPS (uninterruptible power supply) and an alternative source of onsite standby power, such as a diesel generator. There are many different types of system to suit every different sort of application, criticality of load and financial budget. More information is available on Riello’s website.

Riello UPS has just launched the Premium Pro series from 700VA to 3kVA. The range includes new energy saving features and provides on-line power protection for critical IT servers, telecommunications, EPoS and data applications.

The Premium Pro from Riello UPS has a digitally controlled inverter to provide true on-line power protection. Coupled with a new rectifier-charger, the Premium Pro operates at 0.99 power factor; saving 10% more energy than its predecessor range and achieving an operating efficiency of 98% in full on-line mode. The UPS avoids unnecessary power consumption by sensing circuits and battery chargers. The unit can also be configured to automatically power-off when no load is present therefore reducing further energy use. For more information about the Premium Pro series click here. To read the Press Release click here.

It is always nice to see our innovations reviewed. Here is another one by Server Management Magazine on the iDialog UPS. We launched this desktop UPS last year. It is packed with features, ideal for office and small home office applications. The iDialog Plus models have a useful LCD with load and battery charge measurements.

To start the year Riello UPS has just become the first uninterruptible power supplies manufacturer to rate its products for energy efficiency. The Riello UPS ECO Energy Levels system rates each Riello UPS for its energy efficiency and the availability of a ‘smart-mode’ feature. The levels run from 1 to 6, with 6 being the highest available. Riello UPS has taken this approach to help datacentre managers assess the most energy efficient UPS for their application. A full ECO UPS press release is available or for more information see our website.

Riello UPS has an open rather than closed protocols policy. This means that we do not lock-out service access to our uninterruptible power supplies, unlike many of our competitors. This policy opens up revenue opportunities for resellers, gives clients a larger potential choice of service partners and prevents them being locked into expensive ‘monopolostic’ maintenance contracts. The problem for clients is how to ensure that the company they are using to maintain their UPS is certified to the latest Riello UPS standards and training course content. If in doubt we always recommend two courses of action. Firstly, contact our Technical Support Team to check the latest list of Riello UPS Certified Engineers. Secondly, ask the company to provide documented evidence that they hold a current certification, and one for the UPS model they are being asked to maintain. The latter is an important aspect because UPS models can vary in design between power sizes – consider a 10kVA Multi Dialog and an 800kVA Master Plus. Other aspects to consider include: access to the latest technical documentation, firmware upgrades and spares. So will Riello UPS ever go ‘closed protocol’ – the jury is still out on that one and given the high level of customer satisfaction experienced by Riello UPS this winning formula may not change for some time to come.

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.

Thanks to my contacts at Data Power Protection who gave me a link to a Daily Mail website article the other day about the state of the UK’s electrical supply network. The newspaper article discusses the state of UK power generation and lack of investment which will see us facing regular blackouts and rising electricity costs over the next few years. The basic problem is that our existing power stations are coming to the end of their working lives and our government has not initiated new-build programmes as quickly as required. For Riello UPS and UPS suppliers like Data Power Protection, this means continued market expansion and opportunities but not just for UPS. We would also expect to see a huge demand for standby generators. Personally, I just wonder if local, on-site power generation will be as common a feature of the modern home as a satellite dish and Nintendo WII.

You would have to be a rover on Mars not to know that fuel prices are going through the roof in the UK. Link this to the high rises we have experienced in metals over the last year and you can suddenly see why battery management and UPS efficiency are becoming hot topics in the world of power protection. Most people consider batteries to be a source of standby power for an uninterruptible power supply. The truth is that they are no different in analogy to the fuel rods in a nuclear power station. They are integral to the process, requiring efficient management and safe testing and disposal. The last five to ten years have seen huge volumes of uninterruptible power supplies shipped into markets across the world. This means that there are now literally millions of UPS batteries close to failure. In fact many may already be there but the UPS is not sophisticated enough to know this. Think about the image with this entry and ask yourself how near to empty are your batteries? The only way to tell is to test them in anger during your next mains power failure or take a preventative action and instigate onsite UPS battery testing. The latter approach could literally save you thousands in lost downtime and help prevent your own ‘local’ energy crisis. As our current advertising campaign states ‘it only takes one second to crash your network’.

The Portugeuse Moto GP proved an all round winner for Riello UPS last weekend. We had over 70 people from across the world attend the weekend in Lisbon and Estoril. It wasn’t all bikes though. The weekend was split between presentations on Saturday about Riello and the new Multi Plus UPS, a special banquet on Saturday night attended by Ducati personnel and followed by a full day at the race track on Sunday. Whether you were a motorbike fan or not, the whole weekend was an absolute winner for all concerned.