Best Practices for Modernizing Vintage Data Centers

Overview

The guide starts from the observation that facilities ten or more years old fall behind on capacity, efficiency and maintainability. Modernisation is presented as a chance to replace failure-prone, undersized infrastructure while also improving arc-flash safety. The document is hosted on the LBNL Center of Expertise site and is Eaton white paper WP083014EN from 2016.

The most valuable content is the service-life table (Table 1). Rack PDUs last 8-12 years; power cables and busway 8-20 years; central UPS above 3,000 kVA 15-20 years, rackmount UPS 4-8 years, batteries 5-10 years depending on type; RPPs and computer-room PDUs 8-12 years; switchgear, transformers and generators over 20 years. The width of some ranges (8 to 20 for cables) shows how much environment and load change life.

The process has eight steps: it starts by assembling the team and building the business case, puts arc-flash hazard analysis at step five and commissioning tests at step seven, and ends with validation. Positioning arc-flash analysis as a required retrofit step matters: replacing existing switchgear also changes short-circuit levels and protection settings. The document is short and general: it gives no maintenance contract, capacity calculation or cost method, and the life ranges are one manufacturer's typical values. In lifecycle planning it is therefore useful for roughly timing replacement needs, not for fixing exact dates.

Key points

1. Rack PDU 8-12 yr; power cables 8-20 yr; busway 8-20 yr
2. Central UPS 3,000+ kVA 15-20 yr; rackmount UPS 4-8 yr; batteries 5-10 yr depending on type
3. RPP and computer-room PDU 8-12 yr; switchgear, transformers, generators 20+ yr
4. Retrofit process: 8 steps incl. arc-flash hazard analysis (step 5) and commissioning tests (step 7)
5. Goal: more capacity and efficiency with better arc-flash safety and maintainability
6. Hosted on the LBNL Center of Expertise site (Eaton WP083014EN, 2016)

Using it in design

• Add a designLifeYears catalog parameter per equipment type, default to the range midpoint, and drive a TCO/refresh timeline from it.
• In brownfield mode, require arc-flash study and commissioning tasks when the user upgrades existing switchgear or UPS.
• Plan battery replacement apart from the UPS frame: 5-10 years and a 15-20 year central UPS life are not on the same calendar.
• Show long-term replacement of switchgear, transformers and generators as its own line, assuming 20+ years of life.

Who should read it

Facility managers and electrical engineers preparing the refresh budget and schedule of an existing data center.

Related standards

• NFPA 70E
• IEEE 1584
• ASHRAE Guideline 0 (commissioning)

Publication details

Authors

John Collins

Publisher

Eaton

Year

2016

Document number

WP083014EN

Document language

English

Source type

Manufacturer

Access

Free to read

Licence

Copyright retained; citation only — the publisher’s terms apply to the original document

Citation