F E A T U R E

The exponential growth of AI workloads is drastically increasing power densities and posing complex challenges for modern data centre facilities. Chris Osian, Product Manager at Starline, a brand of Legrand, details the effects of this AI revolution, outlining the major challenges in power distribution today and what future-ready strategies must deliver to meet rising density and uptime demands. He also examines how busway solutions, such as Starline Track Busway, provide advantages in scalability, installation, safety and white space optimisation compared to traditional RPP systems.

What effect have AI workloads had on power distribution?

There is a monumental push for increased power capacity driven entirely by AI racks. When we look at AI racks today compared to standard racks from just a few years ago, the contrast in power consumption is stark – they are far more power-hungry. Consequently, power infrastructure across the board has had to rapidly evolve to keep pace with escalating demand.

To put this into context, four or five years ago racks were drawing under 10 kW. Today, we see racks drawing 150 kW or more. This represents a dramatic change in the growth rate we’ ve traditionally seen in the rack space over the past half-decade.

We are witnessing this evolution across the entire power chain, resulting in higher available fault current. This rapid, dramatic transformation has forced power infrastructure benefactors to evolve in an incredibly short timeframe.

What are the major challenges for data centre power distribution today and what must future-ready products and strategies provide?

To ensure future-readiness, infrastructure must now be specified not only to satisfy current demand but also to account for the long-term. Since these rapid

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