Eaton 5PX is head of the class on NY college campus

Background

Founded in 1882, Nyack Christian College serves the entire metro NYC area with two campus locations in Nyack and Manhattan. The majority of the college’s 3,400 students hail from New York City’s five boroughs and surrounding suburbs, reflecting the diversity of the New York area. Furthermore, the college’s international students come from 60 different countries. Nyack offers students a strong liberal arts education with a Christian foundation. Many of the school’s 32,000 alumni work in New York area churches, counseling centers, social service agencies, health care facilities, schools, local government, businesses and corporations.

Challenge

When Nyack converted an old apartment building into a brand new facility that opened earlier this year, it provided the opportunity to also construct a new data center. Originally earmarked for the basement, the data center’s blue prints were revamped following the widespread flooding of basement facilities during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. “Now the data center is in a room that was originally intended as an office, but we made it into a server room,” explains Kevin Buel, Nyack’s director of information technologies.To safeguard its range of servers, as well as a critical phone switch, Nyack needed an uninterruptible power system (UPS) that could offer exceptional reliability. The college also desired a unit that wouldn’t occupy significant real estate in the server room, as well as a cost-effective model. 

Solution

With an Eaton UPS already operating successfully at another campus site, Nyack turned to the manufacturer that had already demonstrated a proven track record, and zeroed in on the Eaton 5PX UPS. “Our other Eaton unit had served us well for several years with no issues,” Buel reports. “Our engineer recommended the 5PX from his research and the reviews, so that is what we went with.” Indeed, the 5PX incorporates all of Nyack’s prerequisites in a single solution: high reliability, attractive pricing and a small footprint — while delivering additional benefits such as high efficiency, extended runtime options and an impressive three-year warranty. The 5PX not only offers advanced power conditioning and unparalleled battery backup for network closest and small data centers, but does so with industry-leading efficiency of up to 99 percent.

“We certainly appreciate that level of efficiency,” Buel confirms. Furthermore, the unit protects more devices by providing 28 percent more wattage than traditional UPSs. Adding to the 5PX’s reliability is Eaton’s exclusive ABM® technology, which increases battery service life by 50 percent. ABM uses an advanced, three-stage charging technique and closely monitors battery health to provide advanced notification when batteries are close to needing replacement. Nyack also gains peace of mind from the unit’s warranty, which covers both the UPS and the batteries for three years — a backing not offered by any other UPS manufacturer in the industry. In addition, the college is pleased that the convenient rackmount unit doesn’t take up a lot of space in its server room. “We didn’t want anything huge,” Buel points out. The IT director appreciates the 5PX’s next-generation LCD display, as well. “It’s very convenient to be able to just check the panel of the UPS,” he says. Nyack also opted to take advantage of the 5PX’s optional extended battery modules (EBMs), ensuring a full hour of backup in the event of an outage. And for customers seeking exceptional manageability, the 5PX includes energy metering functionality right down to the outlet segments — a capability offered by no other UPS in the industry. Finally, Nyack Christian College was able to gain all of the advantages afforded by the 5PX at a surprisingly attractive price point, further enhancing the overall value of the solution.