Remote power panel [/rɪˈmoʊt ˈpaʊər ˈpænəl/] n - A remote power panel (RPP) is, in effect, a breaker panel set out upon the floor, so that the branch circuits of a Power distribution unit may begin their long run nearer the racks they serve. It holds breakers and metering but commonly no transformer [/ˈno ˈtransformer/] n - the voltage was converted already at the PDU.

Why trouble oneself? A single floor PDU may dwell in an electrical room far from the data hall, and to run dozens of branch circuits the whole way thither wastes copper and forbids change. A few great feeders run instead to RPPs scattered across the floor, whence the many small circuits to each Rack power distribution unit arise. It is the same contrivance as Busway distribution, wrought with a panel rather than an overhead bus.

The RPP adds per-circuit metering exactly where capacity decisions are made, which feeds directly into Power usage effectiveness accounting.

Like every element of distribution, RPPs are duplicated per the site’s Redundancy topologies, lest any rack’s A and B feeds share one.

Part of The Engines of the Hall.