Power
Electrical capacity, UPS units, batteries, generators and PUE.
Your datacenter needs a power supply that is sufficient, efficient and uninterrupted.
Electrical capacity
The Active power indicator compares the power drawn with the installed capacity. Increase capacity with the “+50 kW” button or substation upgrades. At 100%, the whole site shuts down.
UPS units, batteries and generators
Open the Equipment & UPS window (U):
- UPS units and battery strings: take over instantly during an outage.
- Runtime: how long the batteries can carry the load.
- Generators and fuel: take over during long outages. Keep an eye on the tank level!
Tier audits require a minimum runtime. Without batteries or fuel, a grid outage becomes a disaster.
PUE
PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) divides the site's total energy by the servers' energy. A PUE of 1.50 means that for 100 kW of servers, 50 kW go to cooling and losses. Lowering it cuts your bill and helps your audits. Above 1.35, a carbon tax applies.
Facility upgrades
Amorphous-core transformers, SF6 breakers, battery energy storage (BESS), better generators… Each upgrade adds capacity or runtime, or lowers the PUE. The full list, with costs, is in the Cooling chapter.