Security of supply in every corner

Between 2017 and 2025, the amount of data generated worldwide is expected to increase tenfold. A year ago, the American provider of digital management software for the media industry MerlinOne calculated the unimaginable amount of 2.5 trillion bytes generated every day. Machines account for a constantly growing proportion of this. The Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, control units in cars and household appliances - the list of devices that produce data independently is getting longer and longer. This often involves very critical information that is necessary for controlling production processes or for security reasons. However, not all information needs to be processed by a central instance. The value of data can be limited locally to the surrounding systems. Often, centralized processing is also not possible because the latency times would be too high. In all these cases, when data processing does not take place in the center of the network, for example in the cloud or in the company's own data center, but rather at its edges, this is referred to as edge or fog computing.

The cloud's little brother

Regardless of actual use cases, fog or edge computing can be thought of as an additional virtualized layer between the data generator and the cloud. It is a local decision-making and processing layer that relieves downstream instances. This layer prepares data according to predefined rules, thereby improving response times, reducing the bandwidth requirement for the cloud connection and reducing the storage capacity required in the data center. This enables applications that cannot be implemented with the cloud alone due to insufficient bandwidth or excessive latency, or that generate data that is only relevant on site, in a local context, and does not need to be processed centrally.

The more IoT devices populate factory floors, streets and buildings in the future, the more important edge and fog computing will become for the efficient and cost-effective Internet of Things. The distances traveled by data will become shorter, transmission costs will fall, waiting times will shrink and service quality will increase. In addition, the elimination or at least the reduced importance of a central unit avoids a bottleneck and therefore also a potential source of errors. A server failure can no longer paralyze an entire system. Another advantage of this method is the security aspect. Sensitive data remains where it is stored and is therefore more difficult for hackers to track down.

Requirements for edge operation

IT equipment must also be set up and operated in a secure location away from the data center. This can be a control cabinet, a special room within the site or a dedicated micro data center. What they all have in common are minimum requirements for the security of the equipment housed in them and therefore also for the power supply and its availability. These requirements can be covered by individual elements such as an uninterruptible power supply, filter elements and power distribution rails. However, if reliability, safety and rapid availability are required, they can also be provided by a combined solution such as the Wöhrle Edge Power Management System (WEP). This "Edge UPS" contains all the necessary components to supply and monitor IT equipment at remote locations with power safely and in compliance with standards.

Edge applications differ quite significantly from the conditions in a conventional data center in some respects. For one thing, they often have to operate autonomously for long periods of time, there are no staff on site and maintenance visits are rare. This makes extensive and, if possible, automated notification and remote control capabilities necessary. On the other hand, large electrical consumers often operate in the immediate vicinity and the low-voltage substations are far away. As a result, the quality of the grid power is not as high as in an urban environment, which requires very good filtering and bridging properties. Last but not least, there are physical and electrical safety requirements, especially if the equipment is operated in a remote location.

One solution for all requirements

The WEP edge UPS provides users, electrical planners and system architects with a solution for all requirements in the edge environment without major planning effort. The edge power management system already contains a UPS, power distribution and monitoring functions in its basic state, which can be adapted to customer requirements. This starts with the different power classes of the UPSs used, which range from single-phase with 1 kVA output to 50 kVA three-phase. All UPSs are designed for installation in racks and can be equipped with n+1 redundancy and different battery technologies. In contrast to the monolithic technology used in the past, modular UPSs have numerous advantages. They consist of individual and largely self-sufficient power modules with a load capacity of 10 to 50 kW. The load to be protected is supplied by all power modules working in parallel and protected against impairments such as voltage peaks, undervoltage and overvoltage as well as power failures.

The most obvious advantage of such a modular Edge UPS system is its scalability, both in terms of the possible load and redundancy. The chassis version of the WEP can accommodate up to two modules with 10 kW, 20 kW and 25 kW. Modularity also helps with maintenance. While maintenance work was previously only possible during planned downtimes, modular UPSs simplify the process. The power modules are hot-swappable and can be replaced during operation. The quick replacement of modules also reduces the mean time to repair (MTTR). If a fault occurs, the service technician can replace the defective module with a new one in just a few minutes and restore full redundancy.

Comprehensive monitoring of components installed

Remote maintenance and remote control are now standard features for remotely installed systems. The WEP is supplied with the most important monitoring functions, and numerous other monitoring functions are available as options. For example, complete energy data management with measurement in accordance with EN50600 is included, as is the option of forwarding all important fieldbuses to the built-in network interface via converters. The operator only needs to provide a secure internet connection, the WEP is then available for access via HTTP(S). The network connection gives users an exact insight into the status of all components connected directly or via fieldbus at any time.

Depending on the protocol, both read and write access to the fieldbuses can be carried out remotely. A built-in web server in the monitoring unit serves as a secure start-up and configuration point for the user, and alarm and temperature management are also included as standard. Door contacts, temperature and humidity can be recorded. Additional sensors such as gas sensors, flow monitors or leakage are possible depending on customer requirements.

In addition, digital inputs and outputs are integrated into the monitoring module, with which potential-free alarms and other signals can be processed bidirectionally. The WEP offers energy measurements per distribution board or granularly, broken down to each individual outgoing circuit. This enables very detailed insights into the consumers and helps to detect anomalies in advance. This is supported by a type B residual current monitor (RCM), which detects even the smallest parasitic currents far below the response threshold of a residual current circuit breaker and reports them to the monitoring systems via an interface. This makes it possible to detect age-related damage or changes to the installation and the connected equipment at an early stage and to contribute to compliance with the regulations of the employers' liability insurance association (DGUV V3 / BGV A3). According to current technology, RCM systems are essential for preventive fire protection and allow faults to be localized quickly without shutting down the system.

Well protected against faults and voltage problems

Filters against overvoltage, voltage peaks and frequency fluctuations are also essential to ensure that the equipment is protected in a wide range of applications, even under adverse conditions. Surge protection devices (SPDs) of this kind are required, for example, by VDS Directive 2031 for systems with IT equipment. It is precisely this knowledge of the specific requirements and needs of planners and installers that makes a comprehensive solution such as the Edge UPS WEP recommended for critical applications where safety and rapid availability are essential.

The complete range of functions from a single source reduces the amount of coordination and design work for project planners and system architects. The solution is highly customizable: for example, the WEP can be used with a single power supply as well as with two separate supply lines for UPS-protected and unprotected loads. There are 1-phase and 3-phase variants as well as a large selection of possible physical security features, ranging from a lockable door and sabotage detection to a security safe with 90-minute resistance to fire.

Customized power storage too

The WEP's ability to cover individual requirements also extends to other system components. For example, customers can choose from various forms of energy storage for the Edge UPS. In addition to industrial-grade lead-acid batteries with a typical service life of seven to eight years, batteries with an extended temperature range (e.g. cyclone cells) are also available, which have a service life of up to 15 years and are highly tolerant of temperature fluctuations between -30 °C and +65 °C. Such cyclone cells are significantly more expensive than lead-acid batteries. Such cyclone cells are significantly more expensive than lead batteries, but offer advantages particularly in environments where downtimes for maintenance must be reduced to an absolute minimum. Due to their low internal resistance, they are also able to quickly deliver very high currents, perfect conditions when a UPS has to absorb short-term load peaks.

It is also possible to equip the Wöhrle Edge power management system with lithium-ion batteries. They allow reliable operation up to a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, without any restrictions on service life. Industrial-grade computers can usually withstand temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius and above, meaning that cooling and air conditioning requirements can be reduced. Li-ion batteries also have a higher energy density than lead-acid batteries and can store more energy in the same form factor.

Computing power is now needed in the most remote places on earth. And even if the location for control and monitoring systems is only a few kilometers away from city centres, the equipment must be reliably supplied with power and protected from damage. The Wöhrle Edge Power Management System WEP provides the ideal conditions for this. The solution contains all the components needed to secure the power supply, distribute the power to the consumers in a controlled manner and reliably monitor the UPS and other consumers via remote maintenance. The WEP reduces the planning and coordination effort because all the important elements are available from a single source in the basic configuration. Nevertheless, this Edge UPS can be adapted to user requirements in a variety of ways, for example via the desired power and the energy storage systems used. With the WEP edge UPS, edge applications quickly become a whole lot safer.