Strategic use of UPS (uninterruptible power supply) technology came under scrutiny at The Cumberland in January 2005 prompted by a power cut caused by the worst natural disaster for decades.
Power protection resources were tested by a 24-hour cut that knocked out head office computer and telecommunications systems. Local residents, forced to leave the area, scrambled to get money from cash machines. Happily, the society's existing 12kVA UPS bravely kept its network of Link and VISA machines working but only just! The severity of the disaster prompted a review of strategy and upgrade of the existing UPS.
When Disaster Strikes
The week leading up to the disaster had seen freak storms strike Scotland and North West England resulting in major problems in the city. Over the course of a weekend roads became impassable, businesses were abandoned and residents left stranded in flooded houses.
Emergency services issued a plea to anyone with a boat to join in rescue attempts. Power supplies were severely affected as substations were caught in the aftermath.
Gary Richardson, IT and Head Office Services Controller at the Cumberland, describes the scenario: "It was critical for our customers that our network of cash machines could be relied upon. People had to leave their homes but still needed money. It was essential customer access to the Link and VISA networks was available even if our head office suffered a power failure."
Supporting a Growing Business
Richardson explains: "We had installed more servers to support the increasing demand in our business and it became obvious the existing 12kVA UPS would soon be inadequate."
The UPS had been designed some years before and had reached its capacity. The same applied to the back-up generator. In addition, the generator provided backup power to the IT processing centre only, thus the remainder of the head office had no power throughout the weekend of the floods. Had this occurred on a week day, the impact would have been far more disastrous. This needed to be addressed with a new UPS system. Over 190 staff are based at Cumberland's head office building in Carlisle, which houses the IT data centre, a branch located on the ground floor and the Cumberland Estate Agency Carlisle Branch. The data centre supports 33 branches and eight Cumberland Estate Agency shops.
This amounts to a great deal of computer and electronic equipment, which is sensitive to power problems caused by unconditioned mains electricity.
Protecting Sensitive Equipment
Power problems inevitably lead to equipment wear and tear and shortened lifespan - an unnecessary expense, which can be avoided by the strategic use and implementation of UPS technology. As well as providing back-up power in the event of a mains failure, the UPS conditions the mains supply to protect equipment. In Cumberland's case, design and installation of a 40kVA Multi Dialog UPS was carried out by specialist reseller, Advanced Power Technology Limited, in collaboration with manufacturer and supplier, Riello UPS.
The total cost of the project was £70,000, including rewiring the data centre. "I was very surprised at how reasonable the complete solution was. However, monetary saving is only one value - there is far more in being able to ensure we can survive any power failure and keep the business going."
Ensuring Extended Run-time
Advanced Power installed a fully automatic mains changeover 350kVA diesel generator, housed in a self-contained, weather-proof, acoustic structure to replace the existing lower capacity unit. Richardson explains: "This will keep the entire head office running plus the Society and Estate Agency branches located within the same building, fully manned, for at least eight hours and if need be we can go for longer by topping up the diesel tank. If there is a power cut, we will survive!"
Although nobody could have predicted the flood disaster of January 2005, Richardson and his colleagues are only too aware of the potential for power problems and their responsibility to their customers and the Carlisle community. Upgrading the UPS and installation of a new diesel generator ensures that the Cumberland is less likely to fall victim to power failures in the future - whatever their cause.
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