The global data center market is experiencing extraordinary growth: valued between 347 and 430 billion dollars in 2024, it is set to reach over 386 billion in 2025, with an annual growth rate of 11.24%. In this rapidly expanding scenario, operational continuity and energy efficiency represent fundamental assets for any critical infrastructure operator.
For a major data center expansion project in Saudi Arabia, Ortea supplied 22 custom isolation transformers for data centers. The objective was to ensure service continuity, flexibility in voltage levels, and maximum energy efficiency. Below, we illustrate how we transformed a complex technical challenge into a tailored engineering solution.
THE CHALLENGE: ENSURING CONTINUITY AND VOLTAGE FLEXIBILITY FOR A DATA CENTER
For this large project in Saudi Arabia, the client needed a solution that met specific power supply requirements for UPS (both online and in bypass mode):
POWER SUPPLY REQUIREMENTS
- 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.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY TARGETS (≥98%)
- Machine efficiency ≥98%, essential considering that energy costs represent between 40% and 60% of a data center’s operating costs.
- Compliance with European regulation EU 548/2014 on transformer efficiency.
SHORT CIRCUIT AND FREQUENCY SPECIFICATIONS
- 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.
THE TECHNICAL LIMITATION OF STANDARD DZN0 TRANSFORMERS
THE ROLE OF THE ZIG-ZAG CONNECTION (DZN0)
In UPS systems, UPS transformers are typically in Dzn0 configuration. The zig-zag secondary helps rebalance any unbalanced loads, a fundamental characteristic for ensuring stability in powering sensitive electronic equipment.
THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF INSTALLING TAPS ON THE SECONDARY
However, this zig-zag secondary configuration presents a significant technical constraint: it does not allow the installation of taps on the secondary, preventing the offering of multiple voltage levels as required by the client. 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 voltage flexibility.
THE ENGINEERING SOLUTION: VARIABLE FLUX TAPS (VFVV)
To overcome this technical constraint, Ortea developed a solution based on variable flux taps (VFVV – Variable Flux Voltage Variation).
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONSTANT FLUX (CFVV) AND VARIABLE FLUX (VFVV) TAPS
Under normal conditions, constant flux taps are used (CFVV – Constant Flux Voltage Variation):
- If installed on the primary: when the input voltage varies, it is possible to keep the output voltage unchanged.
- If installed on the secondary: with the same input voltage, it is possible to obtain multiple output voltage levels.
In constant flux taps (CFVV), switching is designed to keep the induction in the core almost constant: by varying the turns ratio, the voltage variation is compensated while keeping the magnetic flux unchanged.
HOW VFVV TAPS ON THE PRIMARY SOLVE THE PROBLEM
Given the impossibility of installing taps on the secondary side with zig-zag configuration, we adopted variable flux taps (VFVV):
- The taps are physically located on the primary side.
- With the same input voltage, changing the tap results in different output voltage levels.
With variable flux taps (VFVV), the tap change deliberately modifies the flux in the core along with the transformation ratio: with constant input, different output levels are obtained by accepting a small variation in magnetization, always within design limits without saturation.
ADVANTAGES OF THE ADOPTED SOLUTION
This approach allowed us to meet the client’s requirements, ensuring multiple output voltage levels without having to resort to taps on the secondary, maintaining all the benefits of the Dzn0 configuration for load balancing.
SUPPLY CHARACTERISTICS: 22 CUSTOM ISOLATION TRANSFORMERS
Ortea supplied 22 isolation transformers for data centers with the following technical specifications:
- Ratings: 90, 110, 140, 280 Kva.
- Vector group: Dzn0.
- Input voltage: 380V.
- Selectable outputs: 380 / 400 / 415V.
- Short circuit voltage: Vcc: 3%.
- Frequency: 60Hz.
- Efficiency: ≥98%.
- Installation: IP21 cabinets with anti-seismic feet.
The “Made in Italy” production ensured high quality standards and full compliance with European regulation EU 548/2014, which since 2021 has imposed even more stringent levels for power transformer losses.
EFFICIENCY AND RELIABILITY: THE VALUE OF A CUSTOM ORTEA SOLUTION
THE IMPACT OF >98% EFFICIENCY ON OPERATING COSTS (TCO)
Transformers remain constantly energized: exceeding 98% data center energy efficiency means significantly reducing losses and energy costs throughout the entire lifecycle. Considering that global investments in data centers exceeded 430 billion dollars in 2024, each additional percentage point of efficiency translates into substantial operational savings.
Compliance with regulation EU 548/2014 is not just a legislative obligation, but a strategic investment: improvements in the efficiency of isolation transformers and UPS systems can reduce the total TCO by up to 25% on power and cooling expenditure.
FROM PROBLEM ANALYSIS TO SOLUTION ENGINEERING
This project demonstrates how Ortea transforms complex requirements into tailored solutions: from understanding the application to choosing the topology and engineering the taps to ensure flexibility, efficiency, and reliability.
It is thanks to our technical expertise and custom production capability that we manage, every day, to solve real problems and ensure continuity and power quality in the most demanding data centers. Our expertise in data center electrical protection and harmonic distortion management allows us to offer integrated solutions that go beyond the simple isolation transformer.
Do you have a similar requirement for your data center? Our experts are available for personalized technical consultation. Contact Ortea to discover how to optimize the energy efficiency of your
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