ecomagination

Data centers, which house information technology (IT) servers and related computer components, require vast amounts of electricity to run and cool during normal operations and maintain power during outages. According to the Department of Energy, data centers in the U.S. consumed more than 61 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy in 2006. This energy consumption is projected to grow 12 percent per year through 2011. With rapidly growing IT demands, data centers present great opportunities to streamline energy consumption, save on energy costs and reduce strain on the power grid.

Large efficiency gains in a data center can be found within the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system. A UPS system is used in large mission critical facilities, such as data centers, to bridge the gap between utility power and an alternate back up power source, such as a generator, in the event of a power outage. GE Digital Energy’s ecomagination UPS system is delivering energy-efficient power to the world’s flourishing data center industry.

A UPS should be designed so it operates efficiently across the full range of a data center’s operating load. For example, data centers with a redundant or parallel UPS system can run at 30 to 40 percent of UPS nameplate full load, a relatively low efficiency, high power loss point on typical UPS systems. GE Digital Energy’s 750kVA SG Series UPS offers data centers optimization at part load, which helps reduce their energy consumption and costs. At a typical 50 percent load, GE’s 750kVA UPS system achieves efficiency of 94 percent.

“As the IT industry’s demand for data storage grows significantly each year, so does the amount of energy needed to run servers and data centers,” said Larry Sollecito, president and CEO, GE Digital Energy. “GE’s investment in more energy-efficient UPS technology helps data centers achieve a high level of energy efficiency without sacrificing high power capacity or reliability.”