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Learning objectives:
Learn about system availability and importance of redundancy for building reliable mission critical
facilities.
Compare the electrical and power needs of hospitals and data centers.
Safety, maintainability, code compliance, and economics play crucial roles in determining the topology of an
emergency system for a critical facility. Speci c requirements for emergency power vary based on the
mission critical facility. Hospitals and data centers have the one of the highest power availability
requirements in the industry to ensure minimal to no interruption of service in critical areas.
Data centers house computer equipment used to process, analyze, and store electronic data. Many
businesses today rely on services performed within data centers to maintain their own functionality,
including day-to-day IT/communication infrastructure. The need for electronic data is growing while the need
to process or access this data at all times also is increasing. Keeping these buildings available 7×24 is a
necessity, not a luxury.
Hospitals, on the other hand, are occupied, public buildings that provide critical care, and depending on the
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type provided, these facilities must be available 7×24.
Privacy Policy forWhile code requirements compel hospitals to have
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1/10/2019 Critical power: hospitals and data centers - Consulting - Specifying Engineer
emergency, standby generators primarily for life-safety and essential reasons, they are not as stringent as
the standard practices for redundancy in data centers.
Demand for uninterruptable reliable power in data centers is now the norm. As most of these facilities are
not regulated by the government, their electrical system topology is exible and innovative. Guidelines, such
as Uptime Institute and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), are used industrywide.
Hospitals are increasingly requiring redundancy in their electrical systems, especially as the use of
computers and electronic equipment to save lives and improve the patient experience has become
integrated into critical care. As technology evolves, the number and complexities of hospital systems
requiring uninterruptable power steadily increases.
Data centers use centralized uninterruptable power supply (UPS) systems for critical loads, while
hospitals have preferred to use internal equipment UPS to allow equipment to be transferred from
room to room. We are starting to see the uses of centralized UPS systems, especially for operating
room lighting applications. Mini-data centers also are part of hospital medical record systems that
employ centralized UPS systems.
Data centers are often required to operate 7×24 without critical load scheduled outages. Critical load is
all electrical loads required to perform the intended task. Most hospitals occasionally can be shut
down for repairs or maintenance, but this trend is changing because electrical system uptime is
increasingly considered an expected level of service in hospitals.
Hospital start-up sequences for larger generator plants are usually faster due to critical and life-safety
time requirements.
Hospital breaker coordination is required by code, while the data center industry considers it good
practice. Data centers frequently have had better and more up-to-date documentation on breaker
coordination, but more hospitals are now keeping track of this information, too.
Hospitals typically use automatic transfer switches to separate different branches; data centers tend
to use electrically operated breakers in a “main-tie-tie-main” con guration.
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Freddy Padilla is a principal and the MEP engineering director at Page. He is a member of the Consulting-
Specifying Engineer editorial advisory board.
Related Articles
Designing backup, standby, and emergency power for high-performance buildings
Data center design considerations
Adopting NFPA 101 in health care buildings
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