In this interview, Thomas Rulmont, Director of Operations at Wallonie Data Center (WDC), explains why WDC implemented the AGIL modular UPS from CE+T Power and the benefits it has delivered.

1. Outstanding UPS proves its agility
AGIL modular UPS helps Wallonie Data Center run with 100% uptime and 95% efficiency!
In this interview, Thomas Rulmont, Director of Opera-
tions at Wallonie Data Center (WDC), explains why
WDC implemented the AGIL modular UPS from CE+T
and the benefits it has delivered.
What was the situation before you implemented the
AGIL UPS?
In 2006, WDC acquired a data center built by in 1987
Cockerill (now part of the Arcelor-Mittal Group). What
we got was an ageing infrastructure: an old UPS system,
old chillers, old everything. The UPS’s were 5 years old
and really not efficient. They produced a lot of harmonics
and we also had problems with battery charging. Plus,
the maintenance costs were huge.
On top of all this, the two 100kVA UPS’s we took over
CE+T Power Agil installation at the Wallonie Data Center
were too small for our needs. We had a 500m2 facility
and planned to grow. So, we needed a capacity of at We were reaching our wit’s end when we had a chance
least 500kVA to start with. encounter with Olivier Bomboir, Sales Director at CE+T
Power. They were developing a new technology that
was modular and sounded promising. So even though
“…we’ve enjoyed 100% up- the product wasn’t ready yet, we decided to wait for it.
time. It’s been a great birth- How long have you been running the AGIL modular
day present!” UPS?
We went live on 28 January 2010 which happens to be
my birthday. The changeover went very smoothly. We
When did you decide to replace the system? first connected half the batteries to the new system
We started looking for a new UPS system in 2007. We while keeping part of the old batteries on the old system.
contacted several big suppliers. Their offers were ok, Then we connected the remaining batteries to the new
but not what we were really looking for. We wanted system. Together with CE+T we conducted a lot of tests
total redundancy. And we wanted a modular UPS, say before and after, but the actual changeover took only a
three 160kVA modules for a total capacity of 450kVA. few seconds and the whole process took less than a day.
Unfortunately, these suppliers only offered monolithic Moreover, since then we’ve enjoyed 100% uptime. It’s
systems. been a great birthday present!
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2. What are the benefits of the new system besides this cabling, circuit breakers and other power distribution
amazingly high uptime? infrastructure. The installation itself was also easier
because of the system’s modularity.
The biggest benefit to us is the system’s modularity.
How efficient is your new system?
In our business, uptime is crucial. Now, even if we lose
one or more modules inside one of the UPS’s, we can Actually, that’s another big benefit. Our old system had
continue to operate. energy losses of 15-20%. For the new system, CE+T
Power guaranteed us a maximum loss of no more than
Another benefit is being able to plan and expand
5% or in other words, efficiency of 95%. This is a huge
capacity in increments. That’s really important in the
savings because now we don’t lose as much energy.
data center business.
And the savings is magnified because the lower amount
of heat released means we also don’t need to cool the
facility as much either.
What about the latest versions of more traditional
UPS?
We did of course compare the Agil to current models
from the competition, and here again the TCO of CE+T
Power’s solution proved to be much lower n
200,0%
180,0%
CE+T Power Agil 20kVA module 160,0%
140,0% TCO CET
And modularity reduces maintenance costs, too. We 120,0% TCO XXX
100,0%
can do a lot of maintenance ourselves because the 80,0%
modules are hot pluggable. Over 7-8 years, this really 60,0%
40,0%
reduces the total cost of ownership. 20,0%
0,0%
The modular AGIL system matched our existing Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Y6 Y7 Y8 Y9 Y10 Source : WDC
infrastructure better, too. When we first installed
the system, we had already put in place a lot of WDC’s Total Cost of Ownership Analysis
Technical Aspects
Situated in the heart of Belgium in Villers-Le-Bouillet, Wallonie Data
Customer WDC
Center (WDC) is the ideal environment for hosting systems and
Product Line Agil operating an information management infrastructure under optimal
conditions. WDC offers dedicated as well as rack hosting, and business
Model Agil 160 continuity services
Modules power 20kVA http://www.waldc.be/
# Modules 12
# cabinets 2x3 CE+T Power is the world leader in AC backup technology. The company
Max. Output Power 480kVA develops, manufactures and markets Inverters, Modular UPS, Remote
Line Powering and Off Grid Powering solutions to the Telecom,
Footprint 1,44m² Industrial and Datacom/IT markets worldwide.
For more information please visit our website at
http://www.cet-power.com
Construction Electronique + Communications S.A. (CE+T S.A.)  Rue du charbonnage 12  B-4020 Wandre  Belgium   +32 4 345 67 00   +32 4 345 67 01
Email: info@cet-power.com  www.cet-power.com  VAT : BE-404404480  RPM Liège - N° Enreg. Entrepreneur / Reg. Aannemer Nr. : 404.404.480/09.00.9.3