Visitors to ABB’s stand saw the first UK demonstration of low- and medium-voltage products for power and infrastructure management within data centers. Features included the Emax 2 circuit breaker’s capability to tap into smart grid communication through the IEC 61850 protocol.
ABB is currently the only manufacturer that can extend smart grid communication to the level of low-voltage devices.
This capability is significant because it opens up the potential for data center operators to make savings by reducing peak demand, integrating renewable energy and back-up power generation, and allowing operators to participate in demand-side management schemes.
ABB also used the exhibition to show how the Decathlon® DCIM (Data Center Infrastructure Management) system can be connected with critical equipment to view and analyze data, create reports, connect to control systems and provide decision-makers with the right information at the right time.
The integration of power and infrastructure management, coupled with compliance to IEC 61850, was of significant interest to many of the show visitors and ABB received a record number of visitors and enquires at its stand.
During the exhibition, ABB’s Head of Data Centers for Europe, Henrik Palmgren, delivered a seminar on the industrialized data center with Ericsson’s Head of Product Line Hardware & Infrastructure, Howard Wu in a capacity filled theater. By combining power and communications infrastructure, data center operators can optimize performance and power consumption to maximize efficiency. This was of significant interest to the attending data center operators, who listened to Henrik and Howard’s seminar about the two companies’ collaboration and discovered how the products on offer could be utilized, as well as the benefits that can be achieved in a real-life scenario.
Nigel Thomas, ABB’s National Specification Sales Manager said: “Data center operators are always looking for innovative ways to reduce costs and improve decision-making without affecting availability. As the only supplier of electrical distribution systems that extend smart grid communication to the low-voltage level, ABB has given operators the opportunity to improve their energy efficiency.”