THE CLIENT
A major EPC specialising in the construction of data centres in Saudi Arabia
THE NEED
For this major project in Saudi Arabia, the customer needed a solution that would meet specific UPS power supply requirements (both online and bypass):
- Power loads at different voltage levels to compensate for any line drops, both in UPS mode and bypass mode.
- Ensure maximum operational flexibility without compromising power quality.
- Machine efficiency ≥98%, which is essential considering that energy costs account for between 40% and 60% of a data centre’s operating costs.
- Compliance with European standard EU 548/2014 on transformer efficiency.
- Short-circuit voltage Vcc = 3%.
- Operating frequency at 60 Hz.
The main objective was to power critical loads with multiple voltages without compromising efficiency, ensuring the maximum operational continuity required by modern digital infrastructures.
OUR SOLUTION
In UPS systems, UPS transformers are typically in a Dzn0 configuration. The zig-zag secondary helps to rebalance any unbalanced loads, a key feature in ensuring stability in the power supply to sensitive electronic equipment.
However, this zig-zag secondary configuration has a significant technical constraint: it does not allow the insertion of taps on the secondary, preventing the provision of multiple voltage levels as required by the customer. This limitation represented an apparently insurmountable obstacle with standard market solutions.
The problem therefore required an innovative engineering approach that would maintain the benefits of the Dzn0 configuration while overcoming its limitations in terms of voltage flexibility.
To overcome this technical constraint, Ortea developed a solution based on variable flux sockets (VFVV – Variable Flux Voltage Variation).