The phrase ‘electrical infrastructure’ often provokes thoughts of large projects that include megawatts of power for multi-national corporations. However, the need for such equipment is equally as important for small and growing businesses alike and whether the growth is exponential or gradual, making sure the electrical infrastructure matches the pace of the business can sometimes prove difficult.

The Challenge

It is not uncommon for a company’s initial electrical infrastructure install to include as few racks as possible in a communications and server room to keep costs to a minimum. But what happens when it reaches full capacity and the business is still growing? It is easy to fall into the trap of buying more and more racks only for them to become fully populated too.

In these circumstances the critical power path may have been overlooked and the company can find itself with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) that has exceeded its power capabilities and no longer functions effectively. At this point, a new, higher capacity UPS installation would be required.

Forward planning is one way to prevent the above challenge from arising and ensure a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in the long run.

Thinking Ahead

Technology has evolved a lot over the last decade, none more so than for UPS systems. In the past, options were limited to either oversizing the UPS to allow for growth or taking a chance and hoping more UPS capacity is not required in the future. In both cases the result is a lack of ability to run an effective and efficient electrical infrastructure.

Now a decade on, it is easier to plan for future growth without having to take unnecessary risks. There are a few ways to do this, but one that stands out is using modular UPS technology.

Modular UPS systems provide the ability to start with a smaller UPS capacity and gradually increase the capacity over time by adding extra modules. For example, the day one requirement may be around 45kW but with company growth this could double in 18 months’ time with the potential for the same again to happen in another 18 months. Installing a 160kVA solution in the first place is often not a viable option.

In this scenario, choosing a modular UPS would provide the best TCO. By using modular technology. 50kW modules can be added at a time to increase UPS capacity as and when required. A modular UPS provides flexibility and also means the commitment to a large UPS system from day one is not required.

Power Control’s Business Development Manager, Samuel Rea, commented, “The reality is, each client’s critical infrastructure varies and this is just one example of how to plan ahead for UPS and business growth.

“As an independent solutions provider, Power Control always puts the client’s needs first and strives to provide them with a solution that works best for them. Offering a wide range of UPS products from renowned UPS manufacturers including; Borri, Huawei, CertaUPS and now Legrand, Power Control makes sure all critical power options are considered”

For more information please email info@powercontrol.co.uk or call the office on 01246 431431

Alternatively please visit https://powercontrol.co.uk/product-category/ups-systems/ for specific product