Facility Management: Power Supply Measures and Energy Saving
低頻~25 min5 terms15 past questions
Goals of this unit
Explain how an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) (無停電電源装置) and an on-site generator (自家発電装置) differ in their roles as preparation for power outages.
Distinguish surge protection (サージ防護), which shields equipment from excessive electricity entering through lightning strikes and the like, from measures against outages.
Explain the idea of Green IT (グリーンIT) and how it relates to the work of maintaining facilities and equipment.
An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) (無停電電源装置) uses power stored in its built-in battery to keep feeding equipment for a while even when an outage or a momentary voltage dip occurs.
How long it can keep supplying power depends on the battery capacity, typically from a few minutes to a few tens of minutes. Keeping the buildings and equipment that run information systems in good condition is called facility management (ファシリティマネジメント), and maintaining power equipment is one of its main targets.
AnalogyIt is like the emergency lights that stay on for a while in a building during a blackout. They give you time to calmly wrap things up and get outside before everything goes dark.
Exam points
ExamInstalling an uninterruptible power supply (無停電電源装置) improves the physical environment of buildings and equipment, so it falls under facility management (ファシリティマネジメント).
UPS takes the initials of Uninterruptible Power Supply and is the abbreviation for the device called 無停電電源装置 in Japanese.
Because it is simply an abbreviation of the English name, it refers to the same device as the uninterruptible power supply. Some products can also send a signal to the computer when they detect a power problem.
How to rememberBreak it down as Un (not) + interrupt and you get "not interrupted", which matches the Japanese name 無停電電源装置, literally a "no-outage power supply".
Exam points
ExamA UPS supplies power only while its battery lasts, so the system is shut down by the proper procedure within that time.
An on-site generator (自家発電装置) burns fuel to run an engine or similar machine and make its own electricity, keeping power flowing even through a long outage.
Normal: running on utility power
Outage: the UPS supplies power
Generator starts and output stabilizes
Generator takes over the supply
Once its output is stable, the generator takes over and keeps supplying power even if the outage drags on.
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It can keep generating as long as the fuel lasts, but it takes time from start-up until its output stabilizes. If fuel reserves or regular test runs are neglected, it may fail to start when an outage actually happens.
AnalogyPicture a blackout at night: you light up what is in front of you with a flashlight while starting a generator that takes a while to get going. Once it is running, the lights stay on until morning.
How to rememberThe name 自家発電装置 begins with characters meaning "one's own house": you make electricity on your own premises instead of relying on the power company's grid.
Exam points
ExamAn on-site generator (自家発電装置) needs time after starting before its supply is stable, and an uninterruptible power supply (無停電電源装置) fills that gap.
ExamInstalling an on-site generator (自家発電装置) and maintaining it through refueling and inspection are equipment-side measures that support information systems, and they count as facility management (ファシリティマネジメント).
Surge protection (サージ防護) diverts the abnormally large voltage or current that rushes in for an instant, for example from lightning (a surge, サージ), so that equipment does not break down.
A surge can reach equipment not only through power lines but also through communication lines. Countermeasures include power strips with built-in surge protection and surge protective devices (SPDs) fitted to distribution boards or lines.
AnalogyIt works like a river's flood channel. It turns sudden high water away from the main stream so the town does not flood.
How to rememberThe English word surge means a sudden rise or an onrushing wave. Picture the incoming wave of electricity being steered aside just before it reaches the equipment.
Exam points
Mix-upAn uninterruptible power supply (無停電電源装置) guards against power being cut off, while surge protection (サージ防護) guards against excessive electricity rushing in for an instant.
Green IT (グリーンIT) aims both to cut the power consumed by IT equipment itself and to use IT to reduce the environmental impact of business and society.
Green IT
Saving energy in IT itself (Green of IT)
Switch to power-saving servers
Cut server count with virtualization
Saving energy with IT (Green by IT)
Go paperless by digitizing documents
Cut travel with online meetings
The former is sometimes called Green of IT and the latter Green by IT. In a data center, cooling uses a lot of power on top of the equipment itself, so the starting point is to measure how power is used and find the waste.
AnalogyIt is like replacing home appliances with energy-saving models to lower your electricity bill, while also ordering online to cut down on shopping trips by car. You reduce both your own consumption and that of your daily life as a whole.
How to rememberGreen is the color of the environment. Remember the direction by the preposition: "making IT green" (of) versus "making society green with IT" (by).
Exam points
ExamTracking how facilities use power and switching to more efficient equipment to lower consumption is also a facility management (ファシリティマネジメント) measure.
Facility management (ファシリティマネジメント) keeps the buildings and equipment that support information systems in good condition, and its scope includes maintaining power equipment and saving energy.
Power measures can be thought of as two safeguards facing different ways: keeping electricity from being cut off, and keeping abnormal electricity out of the equipment.
Green IT (グリーンIT) covers both saving energy in IT itself and using IT to reduce environmental impact, and it ties into facility and equipment management through managing the power that equipment uses.