POWER SURETY The number one concern for building operators, related to the convergence of power and ICT, is power surety. Few industries understand the importance of backup power like ICT. When the grid is interrupted and an emergency arises, people need the ability to communicate. Telecommunications service providers have long been prepared to provide continuous service. They are very familiar with the racks of batteries at central offices used to power telecommunications switches during a power outage. Backup power is also traditionally necessary in premise telecommunications rooms (TRs). When ICT technicians hear “UPS”, they most likely think of uninterruptible power supplies. As ICT plays an increasingly important role in smart environments and work capability, dependence on the simultaneous use of data and power is multiplied. In the past, priority consideration on power and data availability was focused only on fundamental life safety requirements. The primary code solution regarding safety was written to avoid bodily injury or fire initiation from power systems. It was commonplace to consider a complete power shutdown as an acceptable remedy to those concerns. While these basic safety requirements still exist as foundational, the practical application of shutdown is fast becoming unacceptable. In the past, the breakdown of what might have been considered critical use versus convenient use of power was simple, well-defined, and weighted heavily toward convenience. Even the notion of “smart” has been largely used to describe the provision of “intelligent con- venience.” But with the move toward the electrification of everything and the application of artificial intelligence (AI), the balance is rapidly shifting toward more critical use applications and away from the ones for convenience. A second issue related to the convergence of ICT and power involves the physical implementation concerning capability, performance, safety, and cost. Regarding capability, increasing challenges of both level and location are emerging. While the current limited/lower voltage capability has met many of these requirements, the need for more power delivered to more locations, both near and far, from primary power and data sources in buildings and on campus, continues to grow.
NEC-designated Class 2 “touch-safe” power does not always suffice. Higher currents and voltages are increasingly necessary to power larger devices. This demand is pushing the limits of PoE, USB-PD, and other established cabling technologies. As a result, there is a shift to using wireless data with wired power combinations. Additionally, newly approved higher voltage and current NEC Class 4 FMPS technologies (digital power) represent the future. The new challenges of power surety need to address outside transmission, on-premise interior distribution, cybersecurity, power storage, and distribution. As smart applications desired on premises emerge and ICT com- munications requirements fan out to greater distances, the demand for various methods of higher power delivery must keep pace, while maintaining a high level of reliability for the end user (Figure 1). Externally, power storage and distribution are being challenged at an alarming rate, limiting growth in some industries. For example, emerging AI/GI process technologies in the data center environment can require more power and reliability to enable their peak efficiencies than some electrical utilities are able to furnish. Energy distribution models now recognize the value of sustainability. ICT convergence decreases the usage of material because the same cable can be installed for both the data and power. Alternatively, Class 4 FMPSs use much smaller power conductors than traditional Data Center Portion of Uility Demand Growth in Next 10 Years All Others Data Centers 22% Data Center Portion of Utility Demand Growth in Next 10 Years
The line between the energy and communications systems industries is more blurred than ever. Determining the point at which power and data delivery converge has become more difficult due to the increasing overlap. Now more than ever, the two industries must learn to play in the same sandbox. There are ICT cabling systems that can deliver data and power to the devices simultaneously and it is becoming much easier to enable smart devices in a building that facilitates the convergence of power and ICT infrastructure. The Convergence of Power with Information and Communications Technology (ICT) By Patrick Mahoney, Brian Patterson, Todd Taylor
The lines between the limited energy and com- munications systems industries and today’s renewable energy industry are more blurred than ever. Det- ermining the point at which power and data delivery converge has become more difficult due to an increasing overlap. Now more than ever, they must learn to play in the same sandbox. New developments in the technologies for direct current (dc) power distribution have moved energy transportation into the information and communications technology (ICT) world, including:
In the beginning, ICT systems transported voice, data, and video signals to devices that required external power sources. Today, there are ICT cabling systems that can deliver these signals and concurrently power the devices. This convergence began with PoE, which limited the source energy and cable distance. Then they expanded to greater distances with SPoE and higher power with FMPS (Table 1). It is now much easier to provide smart devices in a building with the convergence of power and ICT.
Max Power Output
Max Distance
Power Distribution
• Single-pair power over Ethernet (SPoE), also called power over data line (PoDL).
100 M 1,000 M** 2000 M
PoE++ SPoE FMPS
100 W 52 W* 1000s W
• Class 2 power systems like PoE Type 4, also known as PoE++ (IEEE 802.3bt).
78%
*52 watts is limited to shorter distances ** Power is limited to 20 W at 1 km
• Class 4 power, also known as fault managed power systems (FMPS).
TABLE 1: Maximum power output and distance for distribution types.
FIGURE 1: Projected data center utility growth.
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ICT TODAY
October/November/December 2024
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