Emerson is now offering its Liebert MPX and Liebert MPH data center power distribution units (PDUs) in 415V configurations.

The company announced earlier this week that 415V MPX and MPH units are available in the Americas.

Higher-voltage power distribution systems are considered more energy efficient as they require fewer power conversions than traditional systems do. This is because some power is lost with every conversion.

Peter Panfil, VP of Emerson’s AC Power unit, said many data center managers today were considering increasing voltage of the power they deliver to IT equipment to increase energy efficiency of their facilities.

“By introducing 415V input capability for our Liebert MPX and Liebert MPH rack PDUs, we are providing data center managers with a safe and effective means of distributing high-power output and gaining higher system efficiency,” Panfil said.

In a traditional power distribution system in the US, power can go through as many as four conversions before it reaches the electronics it is supposed to feed. The first conversion starts the moment utility power enters the facility and the last one happens in the power supply of a server or other piece of IT gear.

In addition to conversions that step down the voltage, there are also conversions that change power from direct current to alternating and back, which also result in losses. Emerson’s new PDU configurations are for AC power.

The vendor’s Liebert portfolio includes other power-distribution components that work with 415V power, including the Liebert FPC row-based distribution cabinet and the Liebert MB modular busway.