Silicon-Carbide Enables UPS to Achieve Highest Energy Star Listing
Mitsubishi Electric announced that the 750kVA SUMMIT Series® UPS product was recently certified by ENERGY STAR® to meet 99 percent efficiency in the double conversion operating mode. ENERGY STAR® independently certified it to save energy without sacrificing features or functionality.
The SUMMIT Series® UPS is the first UPS to apply silicon carbide (SiC) technology. Advanced SiC components increase efficiency by 70 percent over conventional Silicon (Si) based UPS. Offered in both 500kVA and 750kVA sizes, Mitsubishi Electric's SUMMIT Series® offers a small footprint, high efficiency, and requires less cooling, lowering the total cost of ownership.
"The use of SiC components in double conversion UPS technology allows the user to operate in the double-conversion mode and maintain higher efficiencies. A 100% SiC set of power-switching modules produces a 70% reduction of power losses," stated Anthony Pinkey, Business Development, Mitsubishi Electric UPS Division.
Pinkey continued: "The 70% reduction in power losses of the SiC based UPS directly leads to an increase in the double-conversion efficiency to 98.6%. This high efficiency not only occurs at high load situations but also continues on into lower load situations.
"The need for ECO-Mode (utility power instead of inverter power) is gone. The UPS can now provide the same energy savings as ECO-Mode while also providing the critical load with conditioned, more reliable, high-quality power.
"Another significant advantage of SiC based UPS is the reduction in heat loss. At 100% load a conventional Si based UPS has a heat rejection of 69.2 kBTU/HR, whereas a SiC based UPS has a heat rejection of 42.0 kBTU/HR. This results in a heat loss energy savings of 39.4% over the Si based UPS.
"The intrinsic characteristics of SiC based semiconductors also allow them to operate at higher temperatures than conventional Si semiconductors. This reduction in UPS heat loss and the ability to operate at higher temperatures help the customer to decrease their cooling costs which accounts for approximately 35% of a data centers electrical energy consumption.
SiC IGBT module
"When it comes to maximizing the available floor space in a data center, SiC based UPS offer a reduction in weight and size when compared to the conventional Si based UPS. The weight of a 500kVA SiC based UPS is 2770lbs, whereas the weight of a conventional UPS is 3330lbs reducing the floor load by 17%.
"Moreover, a 500kVA SiC based UPS occupies 14ft2 compared to the conventional UPS that occupies 20ft2. This is a 30% reduction in the required floor space required increasing the available power capacity in a given area. The SiC based UPS can deliver more power within a limited floor space.
Anthony Pinkey
"In summary, SiC technology is an innovation that will establish a new trajectory for power electronics. Benefits include: increased system efficiency, lower cooling system requirements, operation at higher temperatures, and higher power density. With the integration of SiC based technology into UPS, the goals of data center operators to operate at higher efficiencies, maximize floor space, and reduce operating costs across the facility are being achieved," Pinkey concluded.
750kVA SUMMIT Series® UPS
Mitsubishi Electric UPS products deliver high reliability through robust proprietary technology designed to provide continuous power in the most demanding environments. Mitsubishi Electric's installed base of 9900 series uninterruptible power supplies have sustained load carrying capability greater than 99.9992 percent of their actual operational history.
