Eaton Power Document
Eaton Power Document
Eaton Power Document
Abstract
Power efficiency has become a critical focus for IT and facilities managers as they struggle to meet
ever-increasing demands for faster, more reliable data processing while also reducing data center cost
and minimizing environmental impact.
More efficient power distribution systems, combined with recent advancements in electrical design and
uninterruptible power system (UPS) technology, enable data center managers to significantly
improve system-wide power efficiency. Studies show that most managers of large data centers are
planning to upgrade their existing 480V AC power infrastructure over the next few years, implementing
more efficient 400V AC or 600V AC equipment.
This paper provides a quantitative analysis of 400V AC and 600V AC power distribution systems, at
power load levels ranging from 300 kVA to 10 MVA, to determine which offers the lowest total cost of
ownership (TCO).
Contents
Introduction.............................................................................................................................................. 2
The traditional US data center power system ......................................................................................... 3
The 400V AC power system.................................................................................................................... 4
The 600V AC power system.................................................................................................................... 5
Comparing total cost of ownership .......................................................................................................... 6
Understanding how greater efficiency helps lower TCO ..................................................................... 6
The effect of Energy Saver Mode on the power distribution system ................................................... 6
Illustrating TCO savings with the 400V AC power distribution system................................................ 7
Methodology ............................................................................................................................................ 9
Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 10
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................. 11
About Eaton........................................................................................................................................... 11
Appendix 1: 300 KVA N+1 cost and savings comparisons ................................................................... 12
Appendix 2: 2 MVA cost and savings comparisons .............................................................................. 13
Appendix 3: 5 MVA cost and savings comparisons .............................................................................. 14
Appendix 4: 6 MVA cost and savings comparisons .............................................................................. 15
Appendix 5: 8 MVA cost and savings comparisons .............................................................................. 16
Appendix 6: 10 MVA cost and savings comparisons ............................................................................ 17
Appendix 7: 300 kVA-10 MVA cost and savings comparisons (detailed) ............................................. 18
Appendix 8: First-year and 15-year CAPEX, OPEX and TCO comparison charts ............................... 22
Industry reports show that data center energy costs as a percent of total revenue is at an all-time high,
leaving many companies with large data centers to face reduced profitability due to data center
inefficiency. In addition, data center electricity consumption accounts for almost .5 percent of the
world’s greenhouse gas emissions, with the average data center consuming energy equivalent to
25,000 households.1 As a result, data center managers are under pressure to maximize data center
performance while reducing cost and minimizing environmental impact, making data center energy
efficiency critical.
Although there are several methods of improving efficiency, many data center managers are opting to
invest in more efficient hardware2—a solution that’s often less costly and more quickly and easily
implemented than data virtualization or additional cooling systems. According to a 2007 Frost &
Sullivan survey of 400 IT and facilities managers responsible for large data centers, 78 percent of
respondents indicated that they were likely to adopt more energy efficient power equipment in next five
years.3
While major advancements in electrical design and UPS technology have provided incremental
efficiency improvements, the key to improving system-wide power efficiency within the data center is
power distribution.4 However, today’s 480V AC power distribution systems—standard in most U.S.
data centers and IT facilities—are not optimized for efficiency.5
Of the several alternative power distribution systems currently found in the U.S. and Canada, 400V AC
and 600V AC systems are generally accepted as the most viable. While both have been proven
reliable in the field, conform to current National Electrical Code (NEC) guidelines, and can be easily
deployed into existing 480V AC infrastructure, there are important differences in efficiency and cost
that must be carefully weighed.6
This paper offers a quantitative comparison of 400V AC and 600V AC power distribution
configurations at load levels ranging from 300 kVA to 10 MVA using readily available equipment,
taking into account the technology advancements and installation and operating costs that drive TCO.
Figure 1 illustrates the chain of electrical elements used to deliver 208/120V AC power to servers and
other IT equipment in most U.S. data centers today.
Utility distribution gear transfers incoming power from the electrical grid to the facility. Input switchgear
provides electrical protection and distributes the power within the facility. The UPS ensures a reliable
and consistent level of power and provides seamless backup power protection. Isolation transformers
then step down the incoming voltage to the utilization voltage, and power distribution units (PDUs)
feed the power to multiple branch circuits. The isolation transformer and PDU are normally combined
in a single PDU component, many of which are required throughout the facility. Finally, the power
supply converts the utilization voltage to the specific voltage needed for each server. It is important to
note that most IT equipment can operate at multiple voltages, including 208/120V AC and 230V AC.
In evaluating data center efficiency, the emphasis is often placed on the efficiency ratings of the server
and IT equipment alone. Recent advances in energy management and server technology—such as
high-density blade servers—can help to improve data center efficiency; however, maximum efficiency
can be achieved only by taking a holistic view of the complete power distribution system. Each
component carries a cost and impacts the end-to-end efficiency of the system. Therefore, the entire
system must be optimized in order for the data center to fully realize the efficiency gains offered by
these new server technologies.
As shown in Figure 1, losses through the UPS, the isolation transformer/PDU and the server
equipment produce an overall end-to-end efficiency of approximately 76 percent.
The 400V AC power distribution model, commonly used across Europe, Asia and South America7,
offers a number of advantages in terms of efficiency, reliability and cost, as compared to the 480V AC
and 600V AC models.
In the 400V AC system, the neutral is distributed throughout the building, eliminating the need for PDU
isolation transformers and delivering 230V phase-neutral power directly to the load. This not only
enables the system to perform more efficiently and reliably, but significantly lowers the overall cost of
the system by omitting the multiple isolation transformers and branch circuit conductors required in
480V AC and 600V AC power systems.
As shown in Figure 2, losses through the auto-transformer, the UPS and the server equipment
produce an overall end-to-end efficiency of approximately 80 percent.
The 600V AC power system is currently used in many Canadian data centers, and although it offers
certain advantages over both the 480V AC and 400V AC systems, inherent inefficiencies make the
600V AC system an impractical solution for most U.S. data centers.
The 600V AC system offers a small equipment cost savings over the 480V AC and 400V AC systems,
requiring less copper wiring feeding into the UPS and from the UPS to the PDU. Lower currents also
allow less heating of the wires, reducing energy cost.
Additional savings can be achieved using 600V AC power equipment in unique circumstances where
larger data centers deploy multi-module parallel redundant UPS systems. In practice, a single 4000A
switchboard can support up to five 750 kVA or 825 kVA UPS modules in a 600V AC system but only
four modules in a 400V AC system. This allows the data center manager to add a small amount of
extra capacity at a nominal cost and with no increase in the footprint of the switchgear.
The primary drawback to 600V AC power as compared to 400V AC is that the distribution system
requires multiple isolation transformer-based PDUs to step down the incoming voltage to the 208/120V
AC utilization voltage, adding significant cost and reducing overall efficiency. Some UPS vendors
create a 600V AC UPS using isolation transformers in conjunction with a 480V AC UPS, reducing
efficiency even further.6
As shown in Figure 3, losses through the UPS, the isolation transformer/PDU, and the server
equipment produce an overall end-to-end efficiency of approximately 76 percent—comparable to the
efficiency of today’s traditional 480V AC power distribution system.
As previously illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the end-to-end efficiency of the 400V AC power
distribution system is 80 percent versus 76 percent efficiency in the 600V AC system, with both
systems running in conventional double conversion mode. The 400V AC system’s higher efficiency
drives significant OPEX savings over the 600V AC system, substantially lowering the data center’s
TCO both in the first year of service and over the 15-year typical service life of the power equipment.
As shown in Figure 4, losses through the auto-transformer, the UPS running in Energy Saver Mode
and the server equipment produce an overall end-to-end efficiency of approximately 84 percent.
Figure 4: End-to-end efficiency in the 400V AC power distribution system with the UPS running
in Energy Saver Mode
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* The 400V AC and 600V AC power distribution configurations in Figure 5 each consist of multiple UPSs, input switchgear to
feed the UPSs, and a paralleling cabinet known as a system bypass module, or SBM. Note that the 600V AC configuration
adds the multiple isolation transformer-based PDUs needed to step down the incoming voltage to the 208/120V AC utilization
voltage. These are not required in the 400V AC configuration, in which the UPS delivers 230V power directly to the IT
equipment. As previously discussed, most IT equipment can operate at multiple voltages, including 208/120V and 230V AC.
Chart 1: 15-year TCO (400V AC vs. 600V AC, both in double conversion mode)
Chart 2: 15-year TCO (400V AC Energy Saver Mode vs. 600V AC double conversion mode)
OPEX calculations are based on actual UPS and cooling, refrigeration and air conditioning
(CRAC) efficiency values measured at 50 percent load. This is the typical operating point for
the dual-bus systems common in data centers today.
Floor space cost is calculated at $800 per square foot and 12 square feet per PDU.
Utility power costs are calculated using $0.10 per kWh, and utility demand charges assume
$12 per kW. (These power and demand costs will vary slightly depending on data center
location.)
Startup service cost (including engineering and factory witness test) is calculated based on the
following configurations:
o 400V AC configuration: 2x UPS + system bypass module (SBM)
o 600V AC configuration: 3x UPS + system bypass module (SBM)
The 400V AC power distribution system’s lower equipment cost and higher end-to-end efficiency
deliver significant CAPEX, OPEX and TCO savings as compared to the 600V AC system. The
following table summarizes CAPEX, OPEX and TCO savings across all power loads analyzed. Refer
to Appendix 7 for detailed cost and savings comparisons at the 300 kVA, 1 MVA, 2 MVA, 5 MVA, 6
MVA, 8 MVA and 10 MVA power load levels.
2 - 26%
4 - 6% 17 - 18%
4 - 16% 9 - 22%
4 - 6% 17 - 18%
4 - 6% 16 - 17%
The 400V AC system running in conventional double conversion mode offers an average 10
percent first-year TCO savings as compared to the 600V AC system. When running the 400V
AC UPS in Energy Saver Mode, the TCO savings increase to 16 percent, minimizing data
center cost in terms of both CAPEX and OPEX.
Over the 15-year service life of the UPS, the 400V AC system running in double conversion
mode delivers an average 5 percent TCO savings as compared to the 600V AC system. When
running the 400V AC UPS in Energy Saver Mode, the 15-year TCO savings increase to 17
percent.
In CAPEX investment alone, the 400V AC configuration offers an average 15 percent savings
over the 600V AC configuration for all system sizes analyzed. The 400V AC system’s lower
CAPEX gives data center managers a more cost-effective solution for expanding data center
capacity.
The systems analyzed produced an average annual OPEX savings of 4 percent with the 400V
AC system running in double conversion mode and 17 percent when running in Energy Saver
Mode. OPEX savings rates are linear across all system sizes, indicating that savings will
continue to increase in direct proportion to the size of the system.
As demonstrated in this analysis, the 400V AC power distribution system offers the highest degree of
electrical efficiency for modern data centers, significantly reducing capital and operational
expenditures and total cost of ownership as compared to 600V AC power systems. Recent
developments in UPS technology—including the introduction of transformerless UPSs and new energy
management features—further enhance the 400V AC power distribution system for maximum
efficiency.
This conclusion is supported by IT industry experts who theorize that 400V AC power distribution will
become standard as U.S. data centers transition away from 480V AC to a more efficient and cost-
effective solution over the next one to four years.
About Eaton
Eaton Corporation is a diversified power management company with 2008 sales of $15 billion. Eaton
is a global technology leader in electrical systems for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics
components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics
and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and
powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and safety.
Eaton has approximately 75,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150
countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com.
Sources
1. Kaplan, James M., Forrest, William, and Kindler, Noah, “Revolutionizing Data Center Energy
Efficiency,” McKinsey & Company (July 2008), pp. 3.
2. Aperture Research Institute, “Data Centers are Adopting Green Initiatives but are Wary of
Vendors’ Marketing Messages,” research note (March 11, 2008), pp. 4-5.
3. Frost & Sullivan, “Strategic Assessment on Improving Energy Efficiency in Data Centers,”
#N3E8-27 (2008), pp. 1-4.
4. Spears, Ed, “Future Trends in Power Conversion: High Efficiency, High Availability Data
Center Strategy,” presentation (2008), pp. 13-23.
5. The Green Grid, “Quantitative Efficiency Analysis of Power Distribution Configurations for
Data Centers,” white paper #16, version 1.0 (December 1, 2008), pp. 10.
6. Spears, “Future Trends in Power Conversion: High Efficiency, High Availability Data Center
Strategy,” pp. 13-23.
7. Carr, J., and McCall, L.V., “Divergent Evolution and Resulting Characteristics among the
World’s Distribution Systems,” Power Delivery, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 7, issue 3 (July
1992), pp.2.
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Chart 4: 15-year OPEX (400V AC vs. 600V AC, both in double conversion mode)
Chart 5: 15-year OPEX (400V AC Energy Saver Mode vs. 600V AC double conversion mode)
Chart 7: First-year TCO (400V AC vs. 600V AC, both in double conversion mode)
Chart 9: First-year TCO (400V AC Energy Saver Mode vs. 600V AC double conversion mode)