Daxten Ltd

The design of the Starline busbar system, allows the tool free insertion of the plug-in unit into the busbar, simply rotating the tap off by 90 degrees locks it into position – within seconds a new branch circuit to a rack is completed. What may sound like it is taken from a product brochure actually works, if previously a Starline track busway system, available from Daxten, was installed in the data centre. The busbars were available with a maximum rating of 800 amps. Now the T5 product family, which includes the 250A, 400A and 800A busbars, has been expanded to include a powerful 1200 amp version.

Among many other benefits, one noteable advantage of Starline is represented by the unique design of the busbar: Like all Starline busbars the 1200 amp version has a continuous access slot along the bottom of the bar. It is therefore possible to add plug-ins at any postion along the whole busbar without being limited by pre-defined mounting positions and pre-determined numbers of plug-ins as is the case for some other solutions. This means DC and facility experts enjoy the freedom to position racks and IT equipment in any location. The provided power offers ideal conditions for high density environments. Power redundancy matters in mission critical environments and can easily be achieved by simply adding a parallel track to the primary busbar.

Track busbar versus cabling

Adding a new plug-in unit to the busbar can be done, as already described above, with only a few simple steps and within a couple of seconds. This prevents longer lead times, downtime and high costs that are usually incurred, when cable-based power distribution systems are used. The plug-ins offer drop cable or 16A, 32A or 63A socket connections for the power supply of racks and other IT equipment. 

Energy monitoring for optimal loads

The data channels that are incorporated in the outer aluminum housing of the new busbar offer the integration of an optional energy monitoring system, which measures and controls the power usage at both branch circuit and end-feed level. The measurement modules communicate via a webbased GUI or third-party BMS or DCIM tool. The power data is available on local displays directly at the end-feed or plug-in units or remotely via the GUI. On the basis of this measurement data DC specialists are able to balance loads perfectly. If pre-defined thresholds for critical power conditions were slightly exceeded, automated alerts will be issued and countermeasures can be taken long before the power values would become critical.    

On-demand expandable and future-proof

According to the manufacturer, the modular and scalable design of the new track busbar solution allows it to easily adapt to any performance requirements and power density in data centres of any sizes. The entire busbar system is flexible to configure, easy to assemble and dismantle, and it can be inexpensively installed, expanded and reused.  

Further information on the latest Starline products is available from Daxten at +44 (0)20 8991 6200 or via info.uk@daxten.com.