Indra upgrades its UPS with a modern and efficient solution from Eaton

The company had an outdated UPS that had been installed in the late 1990s — managing it was complicated and it took up a lot of physical space. The company opted to upgrade its old UPS with one with significantly less energy expenditure and a more intuitive management system that could be operated remotely. 

To replace the UPS, the power supply needed to be cut and the heavy machinery being replaced needed to be moved. This didn't stop the entire process from being successfully completed over a single weekend (Saturday to Sunday) with hardly any impact on the system and operations carried out on site.

Solution:

Thanks to Eaton's technical department and its ability to tackle turnkey projects using qualified members of staff, just one weekend was needed to install the system and the client's operations were not affected. This smooth transition was made possible thanks to the speed of installation and the provision of such a service. Eaton's expert staff also provided the client with support during the entire process.

The company opted for the 500-kVA Eaton 93PM UPS, a modular system composed of eight modules each with a capacity of 62.5 kVA and with Eaton VMMS technology that manages power based on the specific needs at any given moment, therefore achieving optimal energy efficiency. This premium system can also be used with lithium batteries.

With a VMMS (Variable Module Management System), only the necessary modules are automatically activated at any given moment since UPSs rarely operate at their maximum capacity. Activating individual modules in this way provides an energy efficiency of 96.7% (a loss of only 3.3%), which is maintained at all loads and only decreases to 96.5% when the load drops to 25%.

This means that if the system had a hypothetical load of 300 kVA, it would not be necessary to run all the modules; it would be enough to activate, through VMMS technology, just the necessary modules for that load level. This style of operation means consumption can be scaled to demand and this leads to energy savings at the end of the year. 

To manage the system remotely, Eaton's IPM (Intelligent Power Manager) software was built into the UPS. This software uses the Modbus and SNMP communication protocol, which provides error alerts by issuing notifications anywhere in the world, and allows incidents to be managed remotely. It can be integrated with leading virtualization platforms, and shutdowns can be scheduled for any power supply incidents, which is essential for all modern systems. The Eaton 93PM UPS interface has a touch screen that displays equipment status information as well as any possible incidents that may arise.

The Eaton UPS is not only much more compact than the model it replaces, it is considerably lighter too; the previous installation weighed around 6 metric tons, whereas this system barely weighs 2.5 metric tons in total.

All this was carried out while meeting the specific needs of the client and providing a turnkey solution. It was also carried out in record time: The UPS was fully replaced in a single weekend, with practically no impact on the client's operations, and with Eaton supporting the client throughout the process with its expert workforce.

The installation also included a power box and switchboard for the new UPS, since there were none for the previous one.

Results

Indra, which has a local presence in 46 countries and operates in over 140 markets, had the new UPS installed over the last weekend of September 2020, in just three days and with a negligible impact on its activity thanks to it being a turnkey project carried out by qualified members of staff. The system was operational by 5:00 p.m. on the Sunday after its implementation being started on the Friday. The power outage was scheduled from early Saturday morning.

"The energy efficiency of the new UPS has improved by more than 30%," according to the head of the installation's maintenance at Indra. He also points out that "The monitoring process is very important to us — that's how we can predict potential breakdowns and that was unthinkable with the old system." Moreover, the company has reduced both the carbon footprint and the physical space used in the room in which the new UPS system is located. Thanks to this system, Indra will accomplish one of its objectives: "To pay off the cost of equipment through energy savings within three years, and reduce the environmental impact."

A further objective accomplished by Indra is the system modularity; this allows consumption to be adapted to specific needs whilst simultaneously increasing its power, which in turn means that Indra can grow and evolve over time in line with its activity. The installed equipment has an active power of up to 450 KW, increasing energy efficiency by more than thirty points.
Indra has put its trust in Eaton many times before and has consolidated its partnership with the company by collaborating again on this project. "The idea is to continue with this approach with this kind of modular equipment as it gives us the room to expand and adapt to our activity," highlights Indra.

"We planned the project in advance and checked what needed to be moved from the room. There were a couple of challenges, but they were quickly resolved. For example, some partitions and panels had to be dismantled so we could remove the old equipment, but it was all swiftly resolved," explains Mónica Tomás, from the Sales Engineer and Data Center Division of Eaton Spain, who gave us some details about the installation process. The system was replaced in a single weekend, "without affecting the plant's daily operations." The load was then put into production, "gradually and without any inconvenience, with the UPS now in operation," adds the project spokesperson.