Surge Protection for Modular Data Centers

Outdoor Modular Data Center for capability expansion of an existing traditional facility

OVERVIEW

Today's increased reliance on very sensitive electronics makes surge protection an important topic for Modular Data Centers. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety study found that $26 billion dollars was lost due to non-lightning power surges. In addition, there are about 25 million lightning strikes in the US each year that cause between $650M to $1B in losses according to the Insurance Information Institute, State Farm©.

Selecting SPD for Modular Datacenters

NEC/NFPA 70 require that Surge Protective Devices (SPDs) shall be UL1449 Listed. This means selecting a surge protector is easier than it has ever been. There are only a few choices available for SPDs that are UL Listed for any of the most commonly used surge standards including UL1449 5th Edition, UL497B, and UL497E.

The continuous demand increase for data centers is facing deployment limitations due to lack of space to add equipment with existing infrastructures as well as heavy costs and long construction times of building brand new traditional buildings. Modular data center provide both the benefits to extend existing capability using outdoor spaces, but also a very quick deployment of the containers format the provide. As this type of data center does not require an existing structure in place to function, they can also be very quickly deployed in remote areas with lower real estate costs.

Given the central function now played by data centers in our present everyday life, their ability to remain operational at all time is more critical than ever. This is why Surge Protections are present at each power distribution levels around the facility to prevent both operational downtime and data losses.

Outdoor Modular Data Center container

Recommended SPD for Modular Data Centers

LocationEquipmentSystemSurge Protector Model#Link
Service Entrance Switchgears480Vac MDS600E-480D MDS750E-480D
Primary Switchboards480Vac MS200-480D MS200-120Y
Busway Power Distribution Units (PDU)347/600Vac DS74US-347Y
Floor Power Distribution Units (PDU)277/480Vac MP100-277Y
Remote Power Panels (RPP)120/208Vac DS74US-120Y/G DS74US-120Y/G

Determining the acceptability of an SPD for Modular Datacenter and All Other UL Listed Equipment

Each of the distribution level will fall under its own UL specific standard such as :
- UL 1558 for switchgears
- UL 891 for switchboards
- UL 67 for panelboards
- UL 508A for industrial control panels (ICP),
- UL 1640 for power distribution units (PDU)
- etc.

The UL inspector will first consider the SPD type when determining it’s acceptability for a given application or piece of equipment. This will include The UL standards mentioned above as well as all other UL Listed equipment. The first level compliance is based on the UL Approval (LISTED or RECOGNIZED) of the SPD or UL SPD Type and it’s Suitable Ratings. This means that it has to meet all safety, performance, environmental and electrical system ratings of the application. If any of these criteria are not fully met, it will require a Procedure Description, a File Update and/or Additional Testing. These actions will require additional costs that may be substantial. For this reason, it is in the interest of the specifier to use UL LISTED SPD’s to eliminate any uncertainty or to make sure the UL RECOGNIZED SPD is selected at the time of UL submittal of the equipment.

Approval Considerations Table based on UL SPD Type

UL
Mark
UL1449
SPD Type
Suitable
Ratings
Procedure
Described
File
Update or
Additional
Testing
Notes
1

2
YesNoNoThe only requirement is that the SPD must match electrical and environmental ratings of the UL 67 Control Panel.

A UL field inspection of the control panel with the SPD installed is required as a part of a standard follow-up service visit.
1CA

2CA

4CA

5
YesYesYesYes – All UL recognized SPD’s require a UL engineering evaluation of the SPD’s existing UL1449 E–file.

This will result, at a minimum, in a cost to update the UL file and may also require testing that would result in additional costs.

Contact us to develop a surge mitigation solution for your application

Where to purchase Citel SPD's