The University of Bristol is renowned as one of the UK’s leading research institutions, with its High Performance Computing (HPC) Centre, in particular, recognised as one of the country’s foremost academic hubs.
It is home to ‘BlueCrystal’, an advanced supercomputer capable of 600 trillion calculations a second. This processing power aides research in fields as diverse as quantum mechanics, climate modelling, chemistry, and even language studies.
The original 1 MVA HPC Centre was built in 2009 and due an upgrade. With the University committed to become carbon neutral by 2030, energy efficiency was a priority consideration.
Certified Riello UPS reseller UPS Systems plc won the contract to deliver the equipment upgrade and selected the Multi Sentry as the perfect UPS to protect the critical infrastructure.
The existing UPS were replaced with 200 kVA versions of the Multi Sentry, with batteries housed in a separate storage room so they could be kept at a lower temperature to prolong lifespan.
Thanks to the MST installation, UPS efficiency throughout the HPC Centre increased from just 66% to 92%.
Calculated on the existing IT load of 200 kW, the energy savings delivered from the UPS system alone total £80,000 a year. Factor in the reduced requirement for air conditioning, and the total annual energy savings add up to £97,000.