Cummins looks to create a new standard rating for datacenter backup power

One of the ongoing issues for datacenter backup power generation has long been the concern over how long generators can be run and how the backup system will handle the ongoing variable power demands of the datacenter.  There are few better known names in the world of diesel power than Cummins and the Cummins Power Generation group is introducing a new power output rating specifically for datacenter applications.

Focused on the high horsepower diesel genset ( 1 to 2.5 M@) the Data Center Continuous rating will be used by Cummins (and I presume they hope by other vendors) to identify power generation that is rated for unlimited hours of operation  and with no restrictions on the average variable load factor. This new rating standard is in addition to the commonly used prime power and emergency standby ratings.

Introduced with the idea of simplifying datacenter engineering design and meeting Uptime Institute Tier certification targets, Cummins says that the new standard came about from customer input on minimizing the various confusing issues when comparing diesel genset suitability for task across different manufacturer product lines. Of course, for this goal to be achieved, other major diesel power generation companies in the datacenter backup power business would also need to accept this rating as a standard which should be applied to their products.