As the first company to invent, patent, and commercialize electricity distribution using a natively digital format, VoltServer is reinventing how energy is distributed. Since 2011, we’ve pioneered intelligent power technology that enables 5G mobile communications and wireless densification, intelligent building optimization, and high-yield indoor agriculture. Today, VoltServer’s Digital Electricity™ powers more than 1,000 large sports stadiums, office towers, hotels, condominiums, and medical buildings. The recognition of the advantages offered by Fault Managed Power, also known as Digital Electricity, is growing, and our team remains at the forefront in addressing power distribution needs across various industries.
Fault Managed Power Explained
Fault Managed Power is the term used to describe a method of transmitting electricity with built in intelligence. The key feature/benefit of this is to manage and mitigate fault conditions, ensuring a safe circuit, mitigating the possibility of a hazardous shock or fire condition. There are two methods by which FMP systems are certified and approved:
- One approved method is to classify the power delivery system as a Limited Power Source (LPS), whereby Class 2 wiring methods may be utilized, provided the circuit could never allow more than 100VA into a fault condition. VoltServer leverages this methodology through our patented Digital Electricity platform to deliver power.
- A second methodology, recently adopted into the 2023 NEC as Article 726, is Class 4 power systems. FMP equipment installed under Article 726 will require a UL1400-1 certification.
VoltServer has been deploying under the LPS methodology since 2014 and is listed to 62368 by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory. Additionally, VoltServer’s portfolio of market-based solutions encompasses a host of products designed and certified to address a broad universe of deployment scenarios. VoltServer’s patented FMP approach played a pivotal role in codifying Class 4 in the 2023 NEC. Now, VoltServer is set to introduce a UL1400 certified solution, offering the most comprehensive set of solutions under the FMP umbrella. This innovative offering addresses both LPS based solutions and the emerging Class 4, UL1400 based solutions.
Read more about Fault Managed Power in the 2023 NEC
Helping Electricians and Contractors Prepare for Fault Managed Power
States are currently in the adoption phase for the 2023 version of the NEC. In addition to obtaining the training required by state licensing boards for Article 726, electricians will soon be able to obtain training to install fault-managed power systems. This will qualify them for new roles and help end-users find electrical industry professionals they trust to deploy their systems. To help make this happen, VoltServer is working closely with NECA (the National Electrical Contractors Association) to develop training materials for electrical contractors to install fault managed power systems. This new training opportunity will be launched at the upcoming NECA EMERGE 2024 conference in Las Vegas this April.
“Partnering with VoltServer helps us introduce the industry to fault managed power and explain the prevailing role that intelligent power technology plays in safe, reliable power distribution,” says Jeff Beavers, NECA’s executive director of network integration and services.
Preparing for Rising Data Center Power Demands
As applications and technology demands increase, organizations expect more from their data centers. At the heart of conversations about rising data center demand and growth is power.
Fault managed power is set to transform power design and deployment in data centers of the future in three ways:
- Accelerating sustainability efforts
- Making high-voltage DC power safer and more efficient
- Supporting scalability and maintainability
We partnered with Belden to develop a white paper, to explore the possibilities of Digital Electricity in data centers and prepare the industry for possible changes in data center power design and deployment. Belden is the developer of the industry’s first cables UL listed for fault-managed power compliance.
Download the whitepaper.
Disrupting the Organic Food Landscape with Hardee Fresh
Indoor agriculture environments are discovering how Digital Electricity can radically simplify their growing environments and reduce capital and operating costs associated with the installation of power-distribution systems. To help controlled environment agriculture (CEA) companies improve efficiency, safety, and control, VoltServer works with some of the biggest names in organic, tech-enabled indoor farming, including Hardee Fresh.
To achieve greater control over indoor growing conditions while using less electricity, Digital Electricity is powering the CEA company’s new vertical farm facility in Americus, GA—the largest vertical farm in the world. Hardee Fresh is leaving traditional AC power distribution behind as it rolls out remote centralized DC power supported by VoltServer’s Digital Electricity solutions. This approach simplifies safe power distribution across the new facility and ensures energy-efficient operations to decrease operating costs.
Read the press release.
VoltServer Is Educating the Industry
We always have exciting projects and announcements in the works! To keep up with the latest news and happenings at VoltServer, make sure to visit our News + Events page often. For more education around Fault Managed Power visit our education platform today.