If you’re a facility manager or IT professional tasked with designing or scaling your organization’s data center, this can be challenging when you have to choose between power distribution options. We understand that you’re not an electrician. But you need to come up to speed very quickly on terms and technology that can influence the efficiency and capability of your data center.
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We’ll explain what a bus duct is and when it makes sense to install it into your system. Plus, we’ll cover other related technologies like a busway so that you can make informed decisions about the design and implementation of your data center’s electrical power distribution.
A bus duct also referred to as a busbar or busway, is an alternative way to conduct electricity. Often utilized by commercial and industrial organizations, a bus duct sends electricity to a cable bus or power cables.
A bus duct is a sheet metal duct with copper or aluminum metallic bars or strips that can transmit a significant amount of electrical current. These metallic bars are also called busbars. Because it is scalable, bus duct can be implemented anywhere cable or conduit is typically used.
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When it comes to transmitting and distributing huge loads of electrical energy, a bus duct is an ideal solution for several reasons:
For many facilities and organizations, a bus duct will be a superior option to cable.
A common misconception about bus ducts is that it’s only for high-amperage applications and facilities. While it can handle between 100 A to A, the bus duct can be smartly used by low amperage applications and Technology Group. A bus duct is ideal for a data center because it is vastly superior to cable because of its capability and scalability.
Bus duct can be a more flexible option that can accommodate directional changes utilizing elbows and offsets. This allows it to handle load changes, which can be helpful for certain applications.
You’ll want to use cable or conduit when installation may be exposed to corrosive vapors. Bus ducts cannot work in this type of environment. If your data center has a high humidity level, then you won’t want to use a bus duct inside the data center.
You also don’t need a bus duct for significantly low levels of power. In this case, you can use it, but it would be overkill and more costly than your cable needs.
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Most building construction prefers to use bus duct to cable installation because of it:
Related Link: Data Center Cabling Best Practices Guide
A busway is a compact prefabricated power distribution system that utilizes bus ducts within an enclosure. The busway conducts electricity to electrical equipment like panelboards, transformers, switchgear, cable buses, and power cables. The Busway includes:
Busways make it really easy to install and fit into specific space requirements. Busways are also lighter and smaller than wire and conduit configurations. Because a busway can handle low to high amperage, it is often used for industrial facilities, residential complexes, utilities, petrochemical, and data centers.
A busway is a prefabricated power distribution system that utilizes many components to manage and conduct electricity. A bus duct is an electricity duct component of the busway system. Because bus ducts make up a busway, these terms are used interchangeably because their function is the same.
Bus ducts are ideal for powering your data center because they are more efficient, easier to install, and don’t hinder the airflow for your cooling system. A busway power distribution system allows for more flexibility, scalability, and lower cost over time. So if you’re currently designing or reconfiguring your data center, you may want to consider a busway system to replace your power cabling.
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C&C Technology Group is a best-in-class resource for designing and building sustainable data centers. We have the education and expertise to guide you through building your data center power, cooling, and infrastructure.
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Last Updated on January 27, by Josh Mahan
Power distribution is facilitated through equipment that takes the power conditioned through the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and distributes it within the IT environment.
Available in a variety of configurations, PDUs are able to manage and control energy consumption in everything from small IT environments to a large, critical infrastructure.
Rack-Based PDU’s: Rack PDUs distribute power in rack environments with multiple outlets and come with a range of intelligent features.
Floor-Based PDU’s: For larger data center environments, floor-mounted PDUs are used to transform power and distribute it to lower capacity power feeds.
Power Distribution Cabinets: Available for both raised and non-raised environments, this type of PDU takes incoming power and distributes it to an individual rack or groups of racks.
Remote Power Panels (RPP): Remote Power Panels are best for growing IT environments that need flexibility in design while maintaining space.
Static Transfer Switches (STS): The STS seamlessly shifts loads from normal sources to a backup standby power source during faults or outages.
Busways: Designed for high-density data center applications, busways provide flexible overhead power distribution where change and adaption are important.
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS): A UPS is a device which provides emergency power to IT equipment when the primary power source is interrupted or fails.
Considering the location of the Data Center is critical. Power distribution equipment can be used in rows, racks, rooms, and even modularly. For rack based PDUs, there are two types of configurations to consider: vertical or horizontal.
Vertical PDUs: The form factor can be tailored to fit most rack heights and are installed at the back or side of the rack enclosure, so these do not take up critical equipment-mounting space inside the rack.
Horizontal PDUs: Horizontally mounted PDUs are installed within the rack U space and sit horizontally in line with your IT equipment. Typically, horizontal units take up 1U or 2U of rack space and have 8-16 outlets.
Each piece of equipment should list the maximum amount of power it can consume either in volt amperes (VA) or in watts (W). After adding up the total power consumption of all your rack mounted equipment, that total should be lower than what your power source is rated for.
In the US, the voltage used to power servers and networking equipment is typically 120V or 208/240V. Europe and Asia typically provide 230V power.
A good rule of thumb is to make sure there are at least enough PDU outlets for the number of receptacles you need to connect. You should also consider having extra outlets for future growth. Be sure the PDU you choose matches the types on the equipment it will be connecting to.
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