Power switches keep banking systems online

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 15, 2002

HSBC's office equipment consultants specified Advance-Galatrek's latest range of dual redundant power switches for its new head office building.

Designed by world famous architects Foster and Partners, the brand new HSBC head office at 8 Canada Square, Canary Wharf is testament to the position of strength that the UK occupies in Europe's banking sector.

With a total of 42 floors, and approximately 1.1 million square feet of office space, this remarkable building is set to house several thousand staff, undertaking a wide range of key tasks.

The sheer numbers of people working in HSBC's new office means that an effective communications infrastructure is of vital importance.

And that is why HSBC's leading office equipment consultants specified Advance-Galatrek's latest range of dual redundant power switches to handle automatic selection between the AC power sources that feed the building.

Designed from the outset for use in mission critical applications where dual redundancy (N+1) resilience is an absolute necessity, PowerSwitches incorporate primary and secondary power inputs, together with a sensing circuit to effect the automatic changeover.

Usually, the primary power source will be provided by a UPS, with the secondary source being either the mains supply or an auxiliary UPS.

If the primary power source fails or is accidentally disconnected or interrupted, PowerSwitch will automatically transfer the critical load to the secondary power input, until such time as the primary supply is available again.

The user can also manually select between power sources, using the keyswitch located on the unit.

To ensure load integrity during the transfer process, both UPSs, or the primary UPS and secondary mains supply, must be connected to the same phase.

In total, 100 Advance-Galatrek PowerSwitch units have been supplied to HSBC by Burland Solutions, a major supplier of voice and data wire management systems to industry and commerce.

Burland Solutions originally specified Advance-Galatrek because of its ability to supply customised versions of the PowerSwitch, which the company has installed in a series of 19in racks in the comms and data suite that comprises a complete floor of 8 Canada Square.

According to Matthew Diver, Project Manager at Burland Solutions, Advance-Galatrek's ability to configure its designs to Burland's precise specifications made the company the natural choice to supply this key component.

"The size, complexity and importance of this installation meant that we had to be sure that every component was right first time, straight out of the box.

Advance-Galatrek's technical expertise gave us the peace of mind to push ahead with customising this vital undertaking to HSBC's exact requirements", he said.

Various different PowerSwitch models are available with, current ratings between 10 and 30A.

The larger capacity units are hardwired to terminals, while the 10A models use IEC plug and play connectors.

The range includes wall, cabinet and 19in rack-mounted versions.