For many years both the National Grid and the government have reported concerns over the resilience of the UK’s electrical system. The risks associated with power outages can be critical for businesses, with downtime leading to lost data, missed deadlines and huge financial implications. These concerns, combined with the growing demand to store data, make it understandable why more companies are investing in their backup systems, and looking to increase reliability and resilience. The Sharp Project, a unique office space recently acquired by Manchester City Council, previously utilised an N+1+1+1 resilience over four 120kv UPS systems. The council required a cost-effective solution that offers N+1+1 on its A&B supplies.
Following a visit to the Sharp Project, PPSPower established that an N+1+1 is achievable with only three of the 120kVA UPS’s. The client requested a further two units, enabling the team to provide three UPS systems covering the A supply, and three covering the B supply.
The works required PPSPower’s engineers to decommission and disconnect one of the council’s units and relocate it to another room in the building alongside two new 120kVA units. Each UPS system has its own string of batteries. The units were installed, and load bank tested at 100%, with each unit switched off one by one, to ensure that the N+1+1+1 configuration works as it should, before putting the client’s equipment online.
There are notable benefits to having the building’s mains power supply coming through the UPS set up. For example, during a loss of supply, the UPS system can notify the relevant person that there has been a power loss, and the equipment being supported will not be affected until the UPS’s batteries run flat. Also, A UPS system converts the incoming AC to DC so that it can charge the batteries. It then converts it back to AC, to support the equipment it is connected to. This therefore, ensures a stable, and consistent supply, and helps to reduce any potential equipment damage due to unexpected surges.
Stephen Peal, Director of PPSPower, said: “At PPSPower we offer a wide range of UPS systems to protect our clients’ mission critical systems. All of our solutions are customer-focused and cost-effective, and can be tailored to individual business’ needs. There are a number of initiatives ongoing to help balance supply, and demand, including Demand Side Response, which we can help businesses participate in.
“This UPS solution will provide Manchester City Council with absolute reliability, and retain N+1 in the event of a unit failure, and during service visits. Our engineers worked extremely hard to ensure there was no effect on the building’s essential operation, and planned works carefully to meet the timescales of the project, minimising disruption. Feedback from the client has been excellent, they are delighted with the solution provided.”
Mike Farrington, Technical Operations Manager at Manchester City Council, said: “We have been very impressed with the PPSPower team’s professionalism and commitment to this project. They were careful to communicate all aspects of the work to us, which helped reduce the impact on our work. They have provided a solution that gives our team peace of mind in knowing that our power supply is protected.”
PPSPower is a successful and well-established national provider of back-up power service and maintenance solutions. The company’s core services include: generator sales, installation maintenance and repair, load banking, UPS sales, installation, repair and maintenance, fire pump maintenance and repair, fuel polishing and Oftec Tank inspections. For more information visit https://www.ppspower.com/
