Catalog / Power Distribution

Power Distribution

Power distribution hardware delivers utility or UPS power from a room's electrical feed down to individual pieces of equipment in a rack, at the outlet count and monitoring level the installation needs. The difference between a basic strip and a switched, metered unit is what it reports and what it lets you control remotely, not how much power it carries.

What we supply

Basic rack PDUs

Fixed-outlet power strips that distribute a single incoming feed to multiple outlets in a rack, with no monitoring or remote control. The straightforward option where local, physical access to the equipment is not a constraint.

Specify by: outlet count, outlet type, input plug, mounting orientation.

Metered rack PDUs

Adds local or networked current and voltage readout at the strip or per outlet, so load can be checked against circuit capacity without a separate meter.

Specify by: metering level, outlet count, input current rating, network interface.

Switched rack PDUs

Adds remote, outlet-level on and off control over the network, used to power-cycle a hung device without a site visit.

Specify by: outlet count, switching granularity, network interface, input current rating.

Cord sets

Power cords that connect equipment to a PDU or wall receptacle, in the specific plug and connector combination the equipment and the source require.

Specify by: plug type, connector type, length, current rating.

Transfer switches

Automatic or manual switches that move a load between two power sources, such as two PDUs fed from different circuits, so a single feed failure does not drop the load.

Specify by: input count, switching type, outlet count, current rating.

Specifying power distribution

A PDU's rated current is not the number to load it to continuously. Circuits are derated for continuous load, typically to 80 percent of the breaker rating, so a 20A circuit is planned against 16A of continuous draw, not 20A.

Plug and receptacle type has to match the source exactly. A NEMA 5-20P input plug will not seat in an IEC C20 receptacle, and mismatches are a common cause of a PDU arriving unusable on site.

Single-phase and three-phase PDUs are not interchangeable even at the same current rating, because the available power at a given amperage differs between the two. The room's electrical feed determines which one applies, not the equipment being powered.

Building a rack and want part numbers? Send us the configuration and we will come back with a specified list and pricing.