
Any fluctuation in the ambient room temperature will also effect these metrics and should be recorded and taken into account as well.

These metrics should be recorded over a given period of time to determine what the exact load is. True power consumption by a server can really only be calculated with metered powerstrips or other similar equipment. If you could provide some additional information on this I would be very interested in reading it. I don’t agree with you on derating devices like that. An average configuration for a PE2950 would draw somewhere on the order of 425W at max load, or 3.5A 120V. True usage of the server of the power supply is usually somewhere on the order of 75% at peak usage and as low as 15% at idle. A 750W name plate power supply can really supply 625W at peak load. The actual max output wattage of a power supply is the name plate (here 750W) x the power factor, often. Power supplies are also inefficient in transforming AC to DC power and this power loss is known as the power factor. If a 750W power supply were suddenly to draw 900W the power supply would likely be shorted and about to catch fire. Second, power supply nameplate ratings are a peak max draw in wattage. The 80% load per power strip would be 12.8A not 16A.
POWEREDGE R520 FANCONTROL FULL
Your load percentage should be taken from this 16A, not the full line amperage. While this is an older article, it presents a dangerous view of power scaling for anyone to actually follow.įirst, all power strip input circuits must be derated to 80% by UL/NEC standards, limiting a 20A / 120V circuit to delivering 16A of available power. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.īoth comments and pings are currently closed.Ĥ Responses to “Dell PowerEdge Server Power Requirements” On Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 at 3:04 pm and is filed under Dell. Tags: Dell, power requirements, poweredge 2950 Using these guidelines you can easily determine how many PE2950’s you can plug into your 20A Powerstrips: If you load the Powerstrips over 80% you can run the risk of overloading the breaker under a maximum load. This is where the 20% variation in operating efficiency is important. The operating load of the Powerstrips must be determined. The next step is to determine the Amperage: W/VAC=A Start by calculating an operational range for a single server:

The operating efficiency is mainly affected by temperature but there are a host of other things that can affect the operation as well. How many PE2950’s can I plug into the 20A Powerstrip without tripping the breaker?Īnswer: The Dell PE2950 has a manufacturer’s rating of 750W, however this rating can vary by +/- 20% depending upon the operating efficiency of the primary power supply. Question: I have several Dell PE2950 Servers and several 20A Powerstrips, my facility provides 120VAC.
