Yorba Linda, Calif.-based VYCON, a designer and manufacturer of environmentally friendly, high-speed energy storage flywheel systems, recently announced that it has just completed a 7MW shipment of its VDC-XE clean energy storage systems to a Northeast Fortune 500 company that specializes in large data storage applications and services for companies around the world. VYCON's VDC-XE flywheel systems used with uninterruptible power systems (UPSs) will protect the data center's myriad storage servers against damaging and costly power interruptions.
Protecting servers against power problems is common in large data centers; however, being able to do this in a more reliable and environmentally friendly way is getting the attention of organizations that want to institute green initiatives without sacrificing dependability. Traditionally, UPSs rely on lead-acid batteries to provide temporary power to keep servers running during a power disturbance. However, batteries can be problematic when it comes to reliability and require frequent testing, maintenance and replacement — not to mention that they contain toxic chemicals and lead, which require special handling and disposal.
To advance its green initiatives, this data center client opted to incorporate VYCON's VDC-XE flywheels instead of using batteries in order to significantly reduce its carbon footprint and decrease the cooling requirements normally required by batteries. The flywheel energy storage system will be combined with the latest on-line double conversion UPS technology, which can achieve efficiencies of 98%. This combination of lead-free energy storage and high-efficiency power conversion make it an ideal green solution for data center operators. The scalability of both the data center's highly efficient UPSs and flywheel systems with a 20-year life, allow for configuration flexibility and easy future expansion. The flywheel's small footprint is saving the data center valuable real estate significantly contributing to a further reduction in carbon footprint.
"Data center managers are finding that by adding flywheels to their power continuity infrastructure, they can vastly improve the data center's uptime as well as become smarter when it comes to energy use and carbon footprint," says Frank DeLattre, president of VYCON. "Our state-of-the-art clean energy storage systems provide the perfect solution to protect enterprises against the costly and damaging effects of power outages — while saving money and the environment."
Tested and fully compatible with all major brands of three-phase UPS systems and available from VYCON's global channel partners, the VDC units feature a 20-year life without a major service interval. Featuring a high-speed rotor design and a five-axis magnetic levitation system for significantly improved power density, the energy storage systems can be used alongside traditional lead-acid backup batteries or replace batteries all together — providing users with a smarter and greener approach to power protection.
VYCON flywheel systems incorporate a host of advanced features that make the systems easy to use, maintain and monitor such as an informative touch-screen GUI, self-diagnostics, log files, DC disconnect, RS-232/485 interface, alarm status contacts, and casters for easy positioning. Available options include remote monitoring, Modbus and SNMP communications and real-time monitoring software.
