New Industry Products

Eco-Friendly Flywheel System for Mission-Critical Power Protection

August 27, 2019 by Paul Shepard

VYCON announced the addition of the VDC-XXT flywheel model to its VDC line of clean energy storage solutions for 24/7 power protection. Paired with three-phase uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), VYCON’s patented flywheel technology brings unprecedented dc power capacity using the kinetic energy of the high-speed flywheel for instantaneous and reliable power backup. VYCON’s VDC-XXT provides a greener, cost-saving solution compared to UPSs that are using lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries.

Offering a smaller footprint for the dc energy storage over valve-regulated-lead-acid (VRLA) and lithium-ion batteries, the new VDC-XXT 450kW system is in the same slim 30” W x 30” D chassis as VYCON’s 300kW rated VDC-XXE model and offers the highest power density in the industry.

The capability of operating at temperatures of up to 104°F (40°C) with a 20-year operational life, results in substantial savings in cooling costs. Also, due to the smaller footprint than battery banks, valuable real estate is freed up for more profitable data center and critical process equipment.

Using VYCON’s VDC-XXT flywheels, customers can reduce initial capital cost along with space requirements as potentially fewer flywheels will be required for specific power and run time. This also lowers on-going energy and operating cost over the life of the installation.

The VDC product line offers the flexibility to select the power level and run time combination that will meet specific application requirements. Like VYCON’s other VDC models, upon a power failure, the VDC-XXT will supply seamless dc energy allowing the UPS to gracefully transfer to a facility’s backup generators upon a utility power outage.

For applications without an engine generator-set or for customers who still want to use batteries, the VDC-XXT can easily operate in parallel with batteries. In this configuration called “battery hardening,” the VDC is the first line of defense against power disturbances – saving the batteries for prolonged power outages. By absorbing the power anomalies, the VDC systems significantly increase battery life by handling over 98 percent of the discharge cycles that can dramatically shorten useful battery life.

Reliability, efficiency, cooling issues, space constraints, recurring battery costs, and environmental issues are the prime drivers for implementing flywheel energy storage. VYCON’s VDC-XXT is an environmentally friendly high-speed flywheel that provides clean ride-through backup power that is fast, predictable and seamless. Providing a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than traditional UPS systems with batteries; data centers, hospitals, broadcast facilities, and other mission-critical applications depend on VYCON’s flywheel systems to provide reliable and environmentally friendly energy storage.

VYCON flywheels incorporate a host of advanced features that make the systems easy to use, maintain and monitor such as 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.

Tested and compatible with all major brands of three-phase UPS systems, VYCON’s flywheel systems are capable of millions of full charge and discharge cycles over the life of the system with no degradation in voltage, power, or storage – unlike batteries. Flywheels are also considered the most eco-friendly of all the energy storage technologies.

The VDC-XXT clean energy storage flywheel system is available now.