The Green Grid digs down into UPS operations

While it’s often easy to address the desire to make your datacenter operations greener and more efficient by purchasing new equipment, the issues involved in changing the way you operate existing hardware can have far reaching consequences that require careful evaluation and planning. But if there are ways to make your existing infrastructure more efficient without a major capital investment, it would be foolish not to consider those options. And with their detailed investigation into the Eco mode operation of uninterruptable power systems, the Green Grid is making that process a little simpler.

What the Green Grid defines as Eco mode my come with different names from different UPS vendors; the Green Grid makes use of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard 62040-3, Section 5.3.4 Classifications for UPS as the defining document for UPS modes of operation. Most UPS vendors meet these standards, and your specific UPS will likely have a mode that matches the Eco Mode in question:

Eco Mode: One of several UPS modes of operation that can improve efficiency (conserve energy) but, depending on the UPS technology, can come with possible trade-offs in performance.

The Green Grid believes that most datacenters use UPS systems that make use of double conversion or Voltage/frequency independence, which means that they are likely to have an Eco Mode of operation, so the white paper focuses on these types of UPS systems.

The white paper makes a point not to focus just one utilizing Eco Mode operation but also the issues that running in this fashion can cause, plus the related systems and support necessary to properly, and efficiently make use of Eco Mode. The goal of the document is to give the datacenter the basic tools necessary to determine if Eco Mode is a reasonable option for their facility and to give them guidelines on what other operations with the datacenter may be affect by this UPS functionality.