Data centers are important parts of modern industry. They consume a great deal of electricity. Have you ever wondered how they get the power they need and how it is regulated? The video gives some insight into the inner workings of a data center power distribution unit.
Ideally, a data center would be powered by two feeds from separate utilities or two main substations. This would provide two redundant power chains.
However, this is far too expensive. A more popular option is to maintain one main feed from a utility station and a backup power source from a diesel generator. Both the utility feed and the backup generator contain a series of switches, which provide the data center with a sufficient level of redundancy.
Let us look at one of the more important phases of data center power distribution. The power that comes into such a unit can range from 2 to 30 kilovolts. A transformer is used to reduce the voltage to 480 volts. The power goes from the transformer to a transfer switch whose purpose is to determine when sufficient power is not coming into the building owing to brownouts, blackouts, or short-term power fluctuations. If the utility power is interrupted, the transfer switch will signal the backup generators to turn on. Now you know all about power distribution in a data center.
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