Improving power quality in data centres

Power quality specialist CP Automation now supplies Janitza’s industry leading test and measurement products to the UK market. The move will equip CP Automation’s customers with a full power quality service, from the identification to the mitigation of harmful power quality issues, helping maximise uptime in the data centre industry.

Data centres place high demands on the electrical supply network and require consistent power supplies to run efficiently. If a data centre experiences outages and downtime for even a short period, then the company’s reputation can be severely damaged — maintaining power quality is critical to ensuring this doesn’t happen.

The Janitza portfolio, now available through CP Automation, offers a whole suite of power quality solutions aimed at maximising data centre uptime, including digital measurement equipment, universal-measurement devices, power factor controllers and peak demand management systems. Such

equipment is essential to comply with standards such as IEC/EN 61000-4-30, EN 50160 and IEEE 519, through the monitoring of harmonics, current and voltage imbalances and any transients or rapid voltage changes.

Of particular importance when maintaining power quality in the data centre industry is the monitoring of residual currents from unwanted conductive paths — something the Janitza product line offers in abundance. Power analysers like the UMG 96-PQ-L offer cost effective power quality analysis, residual current monitoring (RCM) and temperature monitoring, to ensure complete power quality transparency at every level and thus avoid system failures.

“Data centre operators will benefit from the RCM capabilities offered by Janitza products, as it means they can overcome the need for mandatory testing and power disconnection,” said John Mitchell, global sales and marketing director at CP Automation. “Janitza’s GridVis® power grid monitoring software plays a critical role in the RCM capabilities by facilitating continuous monitoring, which allows operators to detect issues early and avoid the need for periodic shutdowns.”