C A S E S T U D Y
REDUCING ARC FLASH RISK IN HIGH DENSITY DATA CENTRES
Chris Osian, Product Manager at Starline, a brand of Legrand
In the race to build faster and denser data centres, a critical risk continues to lurk in the background – arc flash. As power densities rise, so does the cost of complacency if data centres do not update their arc flash risk management strategies. In this interview, Chris Osian, Product Manager at Starline, a brand of Legrand, provides his expert perspective on the importance of educating organisations and their employees to manage risk, particularly as rising power demands driven by AI workloads are expected to increase.
As AI and high-performance computing( HPC) drive ever-higher data centre power densities, the magnitude and severity of potential arc flash incidents increases significantly. To mitigate these risks, operators must implement multiple strategies, including safer power distribution design, arc flash hazard studies, ensuring proper use of personal protective equipment( PPE), utilising overcurrent protection devices( OCPDs) such as fuses, and deploying new technologies like remote plug-in actuators, live temperature monitoring and infrared( IR) scanning. Used together, these strategies collectively enhance safety in high-density environments.
Data centre owners have a responsibility to provide technicians, electricians and other employees with the safest work environment possible. To this end, we explore how forward-thinking operators can reduce the dangers of arc flash incidents before they become a headline.
Can you begin by telling us what an arc flash incident looks like in practice and the impact from a safety perspective?
An arc flash is, at its worst, an electrical explosion. It’ s when energy jumps from one conductor to another. In some cases, it can be as big as an intense blast of light and heat and in others as little as a spark running from an outlet to the plug.
In the data centre, arc flash incidents can happen because of a mis-wire at the factory. The faulty component gets out to the field, powered on and a spark occurs.
Or arc flash incidents can happen when there’ s a lack of routine maintenance taking place and hotspots aren’ t caught in time. That can cause some material to degrade and have the energy jump again through an air gap, creating an arc flash incident.
As power driven by AI workloads is increasing, safety is paramount and requires a more targeted focus. Where there’ s increased power demand, there’ s increased incident energy, or arc flash energy and ultimately more risk involved when dealing with electrical equipment.
Arc flash incidents can occur in data centres; however, they’ re rare as long as the data centre has good practices and programmes to prevent them.
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