Fachmann/Sectors/Data Centers
Sector / Data Centers

Sustaining uptime
from service entrance to rack.

EN 50600IEC 62305IEC 61643-11IEC 61537EN 1366-3EN 50310

In a data center, failure is not measured in a stopped machine but in minutes of service down. Power enters through a service entrance exposed to surges, runs kilometres of cable inside the building, feeds cooling equipment on the roof and ends in ever denser racks. Everything rests on an earthing system that cannot be corrected once the concrete is poured. Fachmann integrates lightning and surge protection, cable management, passive fire protection, earthing and control power under a single technical interlocutor, aligned to EN 50600, IEC 62305 and IEC 61643.

Typical applications

Applications
in Data Centers.

Surge protection · Server room and compartmentation · Control power and cooling · Earthing

Cooling units with fans on a data center roof
01
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Coordinated lightning and surge protection

The problem

Rooftop cooling equipment, such as chillers and heat exchangers, is the most exposed part of the building to a direct strike. Surges also enter through the service entrance and the distribution panels, and end up in the UPS, the PDUs and the servers. A single arrester at the entrance does not protect equipment tens of metres away, and a damaged arrester that nobody monitors leaves the installation unprotected until the next storm.

The Fachmann solution
OBO BETTERMANNbackbone

Three-stage protection: V50 Type 1+2 arresters at the service entrance (12.5 kA discharge capacity per pole and up to 50 kA total, 10/350 µs), V20 Type 2 in distribution and UPS panels (up to 40 kA, 8/20 µs, with tool-free replaceable modules) and VF Type 3 next to sensitive equipment. FS versions include remote signalling to the BMS, allowing the status of each arrester to be monitored in real time without walking the panels.

OBO BETTERMANNdifferentiator

External lightning protection for rooftop equipment: air-termination and down-conductor systems designed to protect chillers and heat exchangers, dissipating the energy before the strike can enter the building.

Featured families
  • OBO BETTERMANN V50 Type 1+2 arresters
  • OBO BETTERMANN V20 Type 2 arresters
  • OBO BETTERMANN VF Type 3 arresters
  • OBO BETTERMANN External lightning protection
Standards
EN 50600IEC 62305IEC 61643-11
Server room with raised floor and cable trays underneath
02
02 / 04

Server room: cable management and fire compartmentation

The problem

Every expansion adds cables onto trays that were already full. A closed or overloaded tray blocks airflow, heats the cables and forces oversized cooling. Every cable penetration between rooms opens a gap in the compartmentation: if it is not sealed, a fire in one room spreads along the cable route. And circuits that must keep working during a fire, such as smoke extraction or suppression, need cable management that protects them.

The Fachmann solution
OBO BETTERMANNbackbone

GR-Magic stainless steel mesh trays: around 90 % transparency, which improves ventilation and avoids oversizing the cross-section, with screwless push-fit assembly. They are built in several levels, symmetric or asymmetric, to feed racks from the ceiling or the floor. RFT raised-floor cable management when distribution runs under the floor.

OBO BETTERMANNdifferentiator

BSS passive fire protection: PYROMIX mortar to seal cable penetrations in walls and slabs, EI 180 and EI 240 classification per EN 1366-3; PYROBAG cushions, which are removed and refitted each time cables are added; fire-rated ducts that keep electrical circuits working during a fire (E30 to E90).

Featured families
  • OBO BETTERMANN GR-Magic mesh trays
  • OBO BETTERMANN RFT raised-floor cable management
  • OBO BETTERMANN BSS passive fire protection (PYROMIX, PYROBAG, fire-rated ducts)
Standards
EN 50600IEC 61537EN 50174-2EN 1366-3
Fans of a precision cooling unit in a server room
03
03 / 04

Control power for BMS and cooling

The problem

The BMS, the controllers of chillers and precision air units, and the room temperature and humidity sensors run on 24 Vdc. If that supply drops during a transfer to the generator set, controllers reboot, cooling loses its sequence and room temperature rises within minutes. Analogue temperature signals travelling long distances arrive with interference and ground loops, and the room is controlled with the wrong data.

The Fachmann solution
CABURbackbone

XCSU DC-UPS: 24 Vdc DIN-rail uninterruptible supply with integrated battery charging, 10 to 40 A depending on model. It keeps the BMS and controllers running during the transfer without a separate external UPS. XCSE 24 Vdc power supplies with 85 to 264 Vac input. CON temperature converters: bring PT100 or thermocouple to 4-20 mA with galvanic isolation, eliminate ground loops and protect the controller receiving the signal.

GMIdifferentiator

PSx1200 SIL 3 24 Vdc power supplies, with built-in redundancy and load sharing, no external components: for control systems that cannot lose power even if a supply fails. Certified to IEC 61508, -40 to +70 °C.

Featured families
  • CABUR XCSU DC-UPS
  • CABUR XCSE power supplies
  • CABUR CON temperature converters
  • GMI PSx1200 SIL power supplies
Standards
EN 50600IEC 61508
Data center roof with HVAC units and lightning protection system
04
04 / 04

Earthing and equipotential bonding

The problem

All electrical protection and communications equipment protection rests on the building's earthing and equipotential bonding. That network is built with the foundation: once the concrete is poured, correcting it is very costly or simply impossible. A conductor corroding next to the reinforcement, or a poor connection to the foundation steel, leaves a fault that shows up years later as communications noise or equipment damage.

The Fachmann solution
OBO BETTERMANNbackbone

Stainless steel earthing systems: flat and round conductors, cross connectors, reinforcement clamps for 8 to 14 mm bars, VARIO earthing terminals designed for foundation steel and anti-corrosion tapes for above- and below-ground joints.

Featured families
  • OBO BETTERMANN Stainless steel earthing systems
  • OBO BETTERMANN VARIO earthing terminals
Standards
EN 50310IEC 62305IEC 62561-2
Reference regulatory framework

Referenced
standards.

The safety design rests on the international ISO/IEC framework, which in Argentina is articulated with AEA 90364 Regulation for electrical installations and Law 19.587 on Occupational Health and Safety (Decree 351/79).

EN 50600
Data centre facilities and infrastructures: availability, security and energy efficiency.
IEC 62305
Lightning protection: risk assessment, structures and installations.
IEC 61643-11
Low-voltage surge protective devices: requirements and tests (Type 1, 2 and 3).
IEC 61537
Cable tray and cable ladder systems.
EN 50174-2
Information technology cabling installation inside buildings.
EN 1366-3
Fire resistance tests for penetration seals.
IEC 61508
Functional safety of electrical, electronic and programmable systems (SIL).
EN 50310
Equipotential bonding and earthing in buildings with information technology equipment.
IEC 62561-2
Lightning protection components: requirements for conductors and earth electrodes.

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