Nominee: VYCON VDC-XE by VYCON Energy
Nomination title: A Greener Approach to Unparalleled Power
Protection
Power quality and uptime are serious concerns for mission critical facilities such as data
centres. However, the typical data centre uses lead-acid battery-based uninterruptible
power supplies (UPSs) to protect computer networks. Unfortunately, lead-acid batteries are
unreliable, require frequent maintenance, are toxic, take up a lot of real estate and require
cooling in order to operate to battery manufacturer’s specifications. To combat this, more
and more data centres are choosing to vastly increase their uptime and reduce costs by
minimizing their dependence on high maintenance batteries or eliminating them altogether.
The alternative choice is high-speed energy storage systems using kinetic energy (aka
flywheels) – a much more reliable energy source that reduces overall maintenance costs. By
absorbing the power glitches, a kinetic energy storage system significantly increases battery
life by handling over 98 percent of the discharges that would normally have shortened the
batteries useful life.
These systems are quickly becoming the favoured choice for power protection as they offer
20 times higher reliability over lead-acid batteries; significantly reduce maintenance costs;
reduce expensive cooling requirements; decrease carbon footprint to advance LEED points,
and feature a 20-year operational life.
In particular, VYCON’s 99.4 percent efficient system includes patented technology consisting
of a flywheel hub formed from aerospace-grade steel, a high-speed permanent magnet
motor generator and a contact-free (no mechanical bearings) magnetic levitation system. By
creating this patented magnetic bearing technology, the need for maintenance on VYCON
kinetic energy storage system is virtually eliminated, as there are no contact points within
the flywheel – no bearings to replace or repack with lubricant. This is a significant
advancement over other flywheel technologies as it allows VYCON to offer its flywheel
systems with a 20-year life with no bearing maintenance required.
VYCON’s VDC-XE is the perfect solution for protecting power dependent applications.
Compatible with all major brands of three-phase uninterruptible power systems (UPSs), the
VDC-XE kinetic energy storage system connects to the DC bus of a UPS. In the event of an
input power failure, the VDC-XE provides clean DC power to the UPS to allow uninterrupted
operation of the critical load.
In facilities that don’t have the floor space for multiple backup units, the VDC-XE occupies
only a fraction of the floor space of batteries – an important benefit for today’s dense
computing environments. Plus, by eliminating the need for costly cooling, the kinetic energy
storage systems feature a reduced cost per kW, giving data centre managers dependable
reliability while reducing costs.
VYCON’s kinetic energy storage systems incorporate a host of advanced features that make
the systems easy to use, maintain and monitor such as a touch-screen graphical display that
provides vital information on system performance, self-diagnostics log files, adjustable
voltage settings, RS-232/485 interface, alarm status contacts, soft-start pre-charge from the
DC bus and push-button shutdown. Available options include DC disconnect, remote
monitoring, Modbus and SNMP communications and real-time monitoring software.
While many green solutions are good for the environment, few actually have a high return
on investment like VYCON’s high-speed kinetic energy storage technology that can help a
company’s bottom line in the short term.
From 40kW to multi megawatt installations, the VDC-XE systems are the first line of defense
in protecting vital systems while at the same time reducing customer’s total cost of
ownership. VYCON’s proven kinetic energy storage technology is helping IT and data centre
managers advance their organisations’ green initiatives cost-effectively, without sacrificing
quality or uptime.
Why nominee should win
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These kinetic energy storage systems replace traditional lead-acid backup
batteries used with UPS systems, providing users with a smarter, greener and
more cost-effective approach to power protection.
The flywheel energy storage system features a 20-year life without a major
service interval, providing a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) than traditional
battery-reliant UPS systems.
The VDC-XE is the ideal solution for protecting power-dependent applications
ranging from 40kW to multi-megawatt installations.
It is tested and compatible with all major global brands of three-phase
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems.