New Study Examines Impact of Power Outages on Data Centers

According to a new study by Opengate Data Systems, a typical data center running at 5,000 watts per server cabinet will experience an automatic and thermal shutdown within three minutes and nine seconds during a power outage. Higher density data center applications experience even more rapid heat-up and shutdown times, with 10,000 watts or more of server equipment shutting down in less than one minute.

Commissioned by Active Power, the Data Center Emergency Cooling Study examines the impact of a power outage in a data center environment and the subsequent loss of cooling. According to a recent IDC report, 50 percent of businesses never recover after an outage and 90 percent go out of business within two years, a fact that prompted the need for the study. In the event of a power disruption, the ambient temperature can rapidly increase since a power outage will usually force the data center’s cooling system to shutdown. It typically takes two to three minutes before full cooling capacity is restored and all cooling systems cycle back on.

Opengate conducted studies on thermal runaways, a condition where servers overheat and shut down. Active Power’s CoolAir technology was also reviewed for its performance during power disruptions and its ability to solve these thermal overload conditions. CoolAir is the only commercially available uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system to provide both emergency power and cooling for data center operators.

Key findings from the independent study include:
During a power outage, a server cabinet with 10,000 watts of equipment will run for 60 seconds before the critical temperature threshold in the server equipment is reached followed by an automatic shutdown.

Current emergency cooling solutions include expensive and infrastructure-invasive chilled water storage. Studies have shown a 73 percent savings on equipment cost using CoolAir over chilled water storage.

A typical 100 kVA IT load can operate for as long as 10 minutes 46 seconds during an outage using CoolAir before an automatic thermal shutdown is initiated, an improvement of 242 percent compared to current numbers and far exceeding the critical two to three minutes of cooling loss.

CoolAir can be modified to extend its cooling capability by lowering the unit’s discharge temperature, resulting in the ability to run the servers for an indefinite amount of time.

“A UPS is typically deployed in a data center to ensure continuous, reliable power in the instance of power failure,” said Mark Germagian, president of Opengate Data Systems. “However, a data center’s cooling system is usually dependent on generator power or utility power coming back online. Once power is restored, as much as two to three minutes may pass before cool air is delivered from the cooling system, which can have grave consequences on sensitive server equipment. Based on our studies, the time extension CoolAir provides is impressive as compared to current industry standards. 10 minutes and 46 seconds is an eternity in an IT manager’s world.”

“Thermal runaways can wreak havoc on a data center causing instant data loss and lost revenue,” said Martin Olsen, director of Product Management and Development for Active Power. “Active Power’s patented CoolAir system mechanically coupled with a direct expansion computer room air conditioner provides both backup power and cooling to bridge the gap during a power disruption. CoolAir uses a unique and simple thermal and compressed air energy storage technology in place of chemical batteries, which also makes the system environmentally friendly.”

In a little more than a year, Active Power has deployed its CoolAir solution in a number of data center applications across a wide variety of industries including banking, broadcast, education, pharmaceutical and utility. Based on the company’s revolutionary thermal and compressed air energy storage (TACAS) technology, CoolAir provides an extended runtime battery-free energy storage solution for three-phase UPS applications and represents the industry’s only minute-for-minute alternative to lead acid batteries for critical operations.

Active Power (NASDAQ: ACPW) provides efficient, reliable and green critical power solutions and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems to enable business continuity in the event of power disturbances. Founded in 1992, Active Power’s flywheel-based UPS systems protect critical operations in data centers, healthcare facilities, manufacturing plants, broadcast stations and governmental agencies in more than 40 countries. Active Power also offers CoolAir, the only solution that provides both backup power and backup cooling. With expert power system engineers and worldwide services and support, Active Power ensures organizations have the power to perform. For more information, please visit www.activepower.com.

Opengate Data is active in new technology research, has extensive experience managing engineering projects, working with technology partners and engineering innovative products for telecom and computer data center applications. The company is an active member and regularly contributes to the ASHRAE TC9.9 datacom series publications. Opengate Data directs attention toward availability which results from engineering simple and familiar systems, systems that are easily scalable for future application growth.  Operational efficiency to reduce operating costs and an intelligent network management system for visibility are also necessary to maximize resources. For more information, please visit www.opengatedata.com.

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