ATLANTA - Oct. 20, 2016 - In critical facilities, uptime is essential. When main power becomes interrupted, these applications depend on backup systems to ensure crucial equipment remains up and running. Not all mission-critical facilities are the same, though, and neither are their backup power nee Contact online >>
ATLANTA - Oct. 20, 2016 - In critical facilities, uptime is essential. When main power becomes interrupted, these applications depend on backup systems to ensure crucial equipment remains up and running. Not all mission-critical facilities are the same, though, and neither are their backup power needs. Adding to its extensive set of offerings, today, GE (NYSE: GE) unveiled a new series of flywheel uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems. The new flywheel UPS systems range from 50 to 1,000 kilovolt-amperes and integrate patented flywheel technology from VYCON*, a subsidiary of Calnetix Technologies, with GE''s TLE Series and SG Series solutions. Adding flywheel UPS systems to GE''s range of backup power offerings provides flexibility to meet the needs of mission-critical customers.
In the event of a utility power outage, a UPS keeps electricity flowing to vital systems and equipment until auxiliary generators cycle on. There are two types of UPS systems primarily used by mission-critical customers today - battery and flywheel UPS systems. A battery UPS system stores energy and converts it to electricity through a chemical reaction. This solution can provide backup power for several minutes or hours, depending on the system, until an auxiliary source of power is switched on. A flywheel UPS system stores kinetic energy in the form of a spinning disk and is designed for short-time discharge applications.
"There are several advantages to using a flywheel UPS system in certain mission-critical applications," explained Ray Prince, global product manager for UPS Solutions, GE Energy Connections'' Industrial Solutions. "By utilizing a flywheel UPS, customers can avoid costs associated with storing and replacing batteries. Additionally, a flywheel UPS system takes up less space in the power room and can reduce a facility''s overall carbon footprint."
Noteworthy benefits that GE''s flywheel UPS system offers customers include:
"Our flywheel energy storage technology is field proven," said Frank DeLattre, president of VYCON. "We have deployed more than 1,200 of these systems worldwide with a total of over 16 million discharge cycles."
The flywheel UPS systems are backed by GE''s worldwide service organization with 7x24x365 support. The same service technician will service the GE UPS system and flywheel when needed.
To learn more about GE''s backup power solutions for mission-critical applications, including its flywheel UPS system, visit
*VYCON is a registered trademark of Calnetix Technologies
GE (NYSE: GE) is the world''s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry.
About Energy Connections
GE Energy Connections designs and deploys industry-leading technologies that turn the world on. We transport, convert, automate and optimize energy to ensure we provide safe, efficient and reliable electrical power. Uniting all the resources and scale of the world''s first digital industrial company, we connect brilliant machines, grids, and systems to power utility, oil & gas, marine, mining and renewables customers, that keep our world running.
About Calnetix Technologies
Calnetix Technologies, LLC ("Calnetix"), headquartered in Cerritos, Calif., is focused on Innovation That Drives Industries™. The company specializes in high-performance, high-speed motor generators and best-in-class advanced magnetic bearings and control systems. Calnetix''s patented, underlying technologies, which have been in use since the company''s inception in 1998, have made Calnetix a world leader in the design and production of high-speed machines. The company''s overall technology portfolio and system integration capabilities have led to development and production contracts with industry leaders and the start of many successful subsidiaries that focus on unique niche markets. For more information, please visit
Matt FalsoSoteryx Corporation [email protected] +1 518 886 1076
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A flywheel device contains a rotary flywheel that spins at speeds of 37,000 RPM, converting electrical energy into stored kinetic energy. In a UPS application, if a power outage occurs, the flywheel converts the kinetic energy into DC power and sends it to the UPS, which supplies it to the facility as AC power.
"Traditionally, flywheels have used mechanical bearings to rotate the flywheel device," explains Frank DeLattre, CEO of VYCON. "But we''ve developed a magnetic bearing technology that allows us to produce a higher energy density, which makes it highly effective as a UPS power source."
Cycle Life and Lifespan: Flywheels don''t have a cycle life. Unlike batteries, their energy storage level does not diminish with repeated use. You can discharge and recharge a flywheel thousands of times, and the run-time performance will always stay the same. VYCON estimates the lifespan of its flywheels to be about 20 years.
• Discharge Rate and Recharge Time: A flywheel normally discharges its entire capacity in 15 to 20 seconds. With UPS applications, this may be sufficient to keep the data center operational during the 10 to 12 second changeover to backup power. VYCON''s flywheels are normally set to recharge in 15 minutes, but are capable of a two-minute recharge.
"Kinetic energy storage is based primarily on the formula: mass times speed squared," DeLattre explains. "Our magnetic bearing allows us to levitate and rotate the spinning flywheel rotor at higher speeds. By doubling the speed of the flywheel, we can quadruple the amount of energy it produces."
• Size and Weight: Flywheel systems typically have a comparable size footprint to battery systems. They weigh far less than lead acid and nickel zinc batteries, and are competitive in weight with lithium-ion batteries.
"Our standard flywheel cabinet weighs about 1,800 pounds, and occupies a 30-by-30-inch footprint,” says DeLattre, who calls it the smallest footprint of any type of UPS energy storage system. "A single flywheel cabinet provides up to 400 kW of power."
• Cooling Requirements: VYCON''s flywheels are capable of operating at temperatures up to 40 C under normal conditions. If the flywheel cabinet is de-rated (i.e., reduced to 300 kW), it can operate at temperatures up to 50 C.
• Maintenance Requirements. Traditional flywheels have high maintenance requirements, since the mechanical ball bearings used to rotate the flywheel must be replaced every year. However, the magnetic flywheel system eliminates bearing maintenance and replacement needs.
"As long as the flywheel is rotating, you know it''s producing energy," says DeLattre. "You don''t need to test them every few months to make sure they''re working. Our flywheels only require routine annual maintenance."
•Initial Cost vs. Total Cost of Ownership. The initial costs of VYCON''s flywheel systems are almost equal with those of lead acid batteries. A total cost of ownership analysis should figure in savings through reduced cooling and maintenance costs, and eliminating the need to replace batteries.
• Safety Concerns: Unlike batteries, flywheels are incapable of achieving thermal runaway.
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