supercapacitor banks
 

hi,

i was just reading a thesis on supercapacitor banks and i was wondering why the data centers don't look into this as an alternative to lead- acid batteries. they seem to have a lot of advantages. they do not release any toxic byproducts, they dont need regular maintenance. it does seem like a more feasible option

Where is a link to this paper you were reading, I would like to read it as well. As for the use I imagine it is a greater startup cost than a lead acid setup, kind of like the flywheel UPS. I do know they work well though in the car stereo application.

There seems to be a lot of different technologies out there to accomplish our datacenter goals but someone has to take the risk of trying it. That is one thing that the people with the money usually do not like to do.

OBXandos

i've read about super capacitor banks too. roughly here is why i realized that they are not feasible,

- as the current bearing capacity increases so does the size

- material for construction of large capacitors is rather expensive

- the additional equipment required to control the output from super capacitors is also rather expensive

- requires a great deal of infrastructural changes, including a complete restructuring of the present data center power system

but im guessing if an all new prototype data center can be built from scratch using this technology, super capacitor banks may become very popular.

OBXandos,
The paper was not related to data centers per se. It was just a paper on power storage techniques that people use across the world. And yes, it was related to car batteries.
I will post the link shortly. I seem to have lost it.

Graham,
Those are very good points. But if it is a one time investment with little or no maintenance costs later on, don't you think it is a feasible option? The car batteries did not require a lot of modifications actually, which is why i thought it was a good option to consider in teh future.

Maybe it is in the works, and those who are working on it are being very hush-hush about it. I agree that it sounds like a great idea, if it worked as you've explained it.

super capacitor banks are great when you are considering it energy storage for environments where power interruptions are frequent. but the back up time is limited. it can be charged quickly and will discharge equally fast.