Schneider Electric has launched a new power-distribution busway product for data centers.

The new Powerbus solution features the company’s PowerLogic energy-metering capabilities and enhanced plug-in boxes.

Schneider has had busway power-distribution products for many years. While data centers and telecommunications facilities were only one of the many advertised applications for an older busway products called Powerbus 225, the solution announced Tuesday appears to have been designed specifically for data centers. Powerbus 225 has also been aimed at retail, automotive, light manufacturing and micro electronics.

In a data center, a busway system can eliminate a tangle of power feeds under the raised floor and provide modular expandability to the number of plugs available to IT equipment above the raised floor. Putting the power-distribution system overhead also makes it easier to move, add or change branch circuits.

Design of the latest Powerbus for data centers eliminates power distribution units and remote power panels from the IT floor, reducing the need for both space and raised-floor cooling capacity, according to Schneider.

The vendor has made it easy to use with its snap-and-bolt hanger design. Installing an additional plug box does not require any tools.

The PowerLogic PM5350 power meter provides a power-monitoring feed that can be accessed remotely using an Ethernet network and a web browser. This capability is provided through the PowerLogic EGX300 integrated gateway server.

Schneider’s competitors in the data-center-busway space include Universal Electric Corp., Emerson, Eaton, GE and PDI, among others.

The power-management intelligence capability (such as Schneider’s PowerLogic) has become one of the key ways these vendors have been trying to differentiate their products from the rest of the market.