Power distribution products save energy

Eaton ePDUs help reduce power distribution costs in 400 V data center configurations, with energy savings and efficiency gains.

June 3, 2011

Industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation announced 400 volt (V) configurations for its ePDU power distribution product line. The new units are designed to help reduce power distribution costs in enterprise class data centers where high-density computing is required. The 400V ePDU products allow consulting-specifying engineers to design data centers that help customers in North America recognize significant energy savings and efficiency gains. 

In 2009, Eaton leveraged the transformer-free design of its 9390 and 9395 three-phase uninterruptible power systems (UPSs) to provide a 400 V ac product for North American markets. Eaton conducted a quantitative comparison of different configurations to demonstrate the efficiency benefits of the 400 V ac power distribution system in today’s data centers. The new 400 V ePDU product offering is UL listed and uses IEC 60309 input connectors approved for use in North America. The standard offering includes 20 and 30 amp configurations with monitoring and outlet switching capabilities.

"Eaton introduced the 400 V ePDU products to extend the capabilities of its award-winning UPS technology,” said Joe Skorjanec, ePDU product manager, Eaton Distributed Power Solutions. “The 400V ePDU products allow users to run servers at 230 V versus 208 V. The advantages are increased efficiency and reduced distribution costs.”

Data centers using the alternative power scheme can use Eaton’s 400 V ePDU products to power information technology (IT) racks without the need for a stand-alone power distribution unit (PDU). Eaton is reportedly installing 400 V ePDU products in its own data center, currently under construction in Kentucky.

www.eaton.com 

– Edited by Chris Vavra, Control Engineering, www.controleng.com