Phase balancing to support higher site efficiencies

Think of places where large telcos and data centres can reduce OPEX, power and cooling immediately come to mind. But load balancing is a little-known area where great efficiencies are waiting to be found.

Power and cooling are certainly the largest operational expenses within large telecommunication and data centre sites. What isn’t widely known, however, is that there are recognised improvements to operational efficiency and cost reduction found from load balancing phases within a three-phase distribution system.

In an ideal world, power should be distributed evenly across phases from day one. But as telco operations and datacentres grow and electrical loads change, so does the balance of power distribution.

The addition of a single-phase air conditioner, for example, or something equally unpredictable in terms of power load, can undo all the electrician’s hard work – creating inefficiencies and operational cost.

To tackle this problem Enatel Energy has patented a dynamic phase balancing capability that can account for downstream equipment creating site imbalances for on and off-grid sites.

“This solution equally applies to off-grid applications where imbalance on a three-phase diesel generator is a real problem,” says Damien O’Regan, Enatel Energy VP Product Strategy. “It can cause the rotor to overheat and mechanical stress that will result in failure.”

“However, with our new phase balancing capability, this will be a thing of the past for customers using our power solutions.”

The new feature, which will be rolled out to power management solutions shortly, maintains site phase balance by measuring and tracking phases, preventing imbalances and upstream tripping, and improving system and site efficiency.

For more information, including details on availability, email info@enatelenergy.com or directly contact your Enatel Energy account manager.