Critical backup power and infrastructure systems manufacturer Active Power received nearly $5 million in orders for its PowerHouse solution, a modular continuous critical infrastructure system.

These orders were made in conjunction with one of Active Power’s strategic IT partners and will support containerized data center applications for the end users. All systems will ship prior to the end of this year. One of the customers anticipates having its solution operational by year’s end and installation for the other customer is anticipated in early 2011.

The first order is for one PowerHouse system which will be deployed for a branch of the U.S. military. The system will contain Active Power's high efficiency CleanSource UPS (uninterruptible power supply) system; switchgear; and monitoring and controls software. The containerized data center and its associated PowerHouse system will support command, control, and communication systems onsite.

The second order is for two PowerHouse systems both containing a diesel generator, CleanSource UPS systems, switchgear, and monitoring and controls software. In addition to this equipment, Active Power will also provide two containerized generators. These complete continuous power systems will provide power conditioning and protection for a containerized data center. Owned by a leading telecommunication provider, the server container will offer managed hosting services for a variety of organizations.

“The preassembled and pretested data center and its associated power and cooling infrastructure continues to become more mainstream, particularly among large IT and server OEM companies,” said Martin Olsen, vice president, Global Channels and Business Development, Active Power. “It all comes down to a much lower total cost of ownership with this modular approach versus the component by component build out of a monolithic data center.”

“ “A self contained data center with a highly efficient, reliable power infrastructure system that can be rapidly deployed to anywhere in the world-all made from preconfigured manufactured components-makes for a compelling offering,” continued Olsen. “These two PowerHouse orders substantiate the tangible benefits Active Power is able to offer to mission critical data center operators.”