Scalable Power Protection for Evolving Data Centre Demands
As data centre loads grow from hundreds of kilowatts to multiple megawatts — driven by AI training clusters, cloud expansion, and enterprise digital transformation — power infrastructure must scale without downtime and without stranding capital in over-provisioned capacity. Traditional monolithic UPS systems force operators into a difficult choice: buy capacity for a future load that may never materialise, or risk running out of power before the next budget cycle.
PARWATT modular UPS systems resolve this dilemma. Built on a hot-swappable power module architecture, they allow data centre operators to install only the capacity needed today — and add modules incrementally as load grows, without transferring the critical bus to bypass and without interrupting protected loads. Each power module is a self-contained UPS with its own rectifier, inverter, battery charger, static bypass, and control logic, operating in parallel with other modules to form a single, unified UPS system.
True Modularity: Pay-As-You-Grow Power Protection
The PARWATT modular UPS system consists of a system cabinet housing up to 10 hot-swappable power modules, each rated from 25kW to 50kW depending on configuration. The cabinet includes the parallel bus, system-level bypass, input and output switchgear, and a centralised monitoring and control interface. Power modules can be added, removed, or replaced by a single technician in under 30 minutes — no specialist training, no external bypass, and no load interruption.
This architecture delivers four distinct financial and operational advantages over traditional monolithic UPS:
- Right-Sized Capital Expenditure: Deploy only the modules you need today. Add more as power demand increases — whether that happens next quarter or three years from now. No stranded capacity, no wasted investment.
- N+X Redundancy Without Oversizing: With 10 module slots, redundancy is achieved by installing one more module than the load requires. A 400kW load served by 9 x 50kW modules still has N+1 redundancy with a single spare module, compared to a traditional 1+1 configuration requiring two complete 400kW frames.
- Reduced Mean Time to Repair: When a module indicates a fault, it is hot-swapped in under 30 minutes. The system continues to support the load on the remaining modules, and the repaired or replaced module is returned to service without any system-level downtime.
- Unified Spare Parts Strategy: A single module type serves all capacity requirements. Maintenance stock is one part number, one training requirement, one set of commissioning procedures.
Power Module Technology
Each PARWATT power module is a transformerless, double-conversion online UPS with a three-level IGBT inverter stage providing up to 96.5% efficiency in double-conversion mode and 99% in eco-mode. Digital signal processor control delivers output voltage regulation within ±1% and total harmonic distortion below 2% for linear loads and below 5% for non-linear loads with crest factors up to 3:1.
Modules communicate via a redundant CAN bus backplane for load sharing and synchronisation. Parallel control is fully distributed — there is no single master module whose failure can disrupt the system. If the CAN bus fails, modules continue to operate independently with their own internal frequency references, maintaining output synchronisation within acceptable limits through crystal-controlled oscillators.
Data Centre Integration
PARWATT modular UPS systems integrate natively with data centre infrastructure management platforms. SNMP and Modbus TCP interfaces provide real-time data on every module — input and output voltages and currents, battery status, temperature, and event logs. Dry contact interfaces support legacy building management system integration, while REST API access enables custom integration with operator-developed monitoring tools.
For hyperscale deployments, multiple PARWATT modular UPS cabinets can be paralleled on the same output bus, scaling to tens of megawatts of protected power. System-level controls coordinate module utilisation across cabinets to balance operating hours and extend service life.
Build your data centre power infrastructure for today — and tomorrow. Contact PARWATT to discuss your modular UPS requirements.
