Heading up product management in Legrand’s power, access and control division, Zach Chauncy leads a team working on developing power distribution units for the data center white space, with a focus on solving customer problems through the development of unique rack power solutions.

In this episode of DCD>Talks, we explore the benefits of universal inputs and how Legrand’s pioneering solution is providing automation and flexibility to users. The company is a global leader in the electronics industry, distributing power to critical devices, such as servers and switchgear.

“In addition to generational platforms, we do custom designs specifically tailored to that user’s needs,” explains Chauncy. “Designing those customs for unique needs is more often than not what allows us to innovate, because we're finding through those interactions with our customers what the real problems are.”

Chauncy outlines some of the key challenges that data center customers are facing, and how these factors drive Legrand’s decisions and development of product lines:

“Modern data center and rack power infrastructure requirements are dynamically changing, and that wasn't necessarily the case when I entered the industry eight years ago. Today's data center is different, and customer deployment requirements are driven by that need for adaptability and flexibility, plus an ever scaling power density requirement.

“As a leader in rack PDU innovation, we’ve met a lot of the requirements from the industry through our existing features, like our high density outlet technology, which effectively increased outlet density at the rack by 50 percent, which was huge."

Chauncy continues to explore some of the ways in which Legrand has looked to address industry challenges, and discusses its newest innovation, the universal input PDU, that’s helping to streamline customer processes:

“Simply put, the universal input feature is a one-size-fits-all PDU in-feed that accommodates both single-phase and three-phase power cords in one chassis, which allows the user a ton of adaptability to the dynamically changing power configurations, without having to source an alternate PDU every time your power configuration changes, which is going to save a lot of time and money.”

With a wealth of experience in developing custom products, this isn’t Legrand’s first universal input design, but a new and improved version. Chauncy explains what makes Legrand’s solution unique, plus the practical implications and benefits for data center customers:

“The standout improvement that we've made in the past five years since we first released a universal input PDU, is our patented smart cord technology. Smart cord technology utilizes an EEPROM, which is a form of non-volatile memory. It's a storage data chip that retains data whether there's power to the device or not.

“What that smart cord technology does is it allows the PDU to dynamically update the ratings and the thresholds in the graphical user interface based on the specific universal input cord that they install on the PDU. Other universal input products in the industry require you to manually set the ratings and the thresholds every time you install a new cord, which can take a lot of time, and ultimately money."

Chauncy reveals that when site and customer requirements change, it’s easy to define a new universal input cord type for the same PDU, where thresholds within the user interface will then be updated automatically after installation.

Some colocation operators bill end users based on the power cord or power drop provided rather than actual power usage. Legrand's universal input allows colo tenants the flexibility to change the power cord for a lower-rated option, potentially reducing billing costs. If power density requirements increase, the cord can easily be swapped out.

The discussion ends with a detailed overview of the range of product solutions that Legrand offers, plus some guidance on how customers can make the right choice for them. “This is just our first pass at the universal input cord offering, so that's something that we will look to offer more options for over time,” Chauncy concludes.

To find out more about how Legrand’s products are providing greater adaptability to customers in the data center industry, listen to the full DCD>Talks episode here.