Data Centres demand a high power consumption in daily operations, requiring bus ducts for electricity distribution. Compact, sandwiched bus ducts are a popular method of energy distribution to save up space and handle a capacity of up to 6000A.However, the voltages within the bus ducts can be a challenge to the overall safety of operations.
The copper conductor within the duct can dissipate large amounts of energy, particularly in loose joints. The potential risk of faults or fire and its severe consequences are ever present.
In order to avoid overheating of bus ducts at these loose joints, an effective measurement system is required as timing is key to detecting potential incidents early on and preventing them.
Real time monitoring addresses major challenges from an overall cost perspective. Higher costs come from overheated bus ducts or poor cooling strategies. Our technology is key to determine sources of inefficiency, provide a reliable risk management solution and protect people and assets.
Among the benefits of fibre optics technology for the Data Centres application we can highlight:
- Real time monitoring and fault location to protect lives, operations and assets;
- Temperature range from -40°C to +150°C for bus duct fault monitoring;
- Maintenance-free solution;
- 3D Visualisation Software;
- Immune to EMI, built with insulating materials; and
- Customisable alarms per zones and different operating conditions.
The cable installation is also simple and cost effective: fitted securely in the outer enclosure of the bus duct, utilising mounting clamps. In a recent event where a fire was prevented in a data centre due to our early warning technology, the client estimated a potential loss of $20 million if they did not have the system in place. Besides the downtime, risks to staff and reputational damage would have been involved in such incident.
