SCHURTER announces its family of IEC outlets with integrated light pipes, an intelligent, space and cost-saving solution for PDUs used in data centers.

The human need for information continues to expand at record pace, while continual advancements in information and communications technology (ICT) strive to keep up. Data centers are under constant pressure to improve upon efficiency and reliability under growing regulatory requirements to reduce energy use and cost. At the base of this modern day economic phenomena is an intelligent, reliable power supply and – at the base of that – a simple connector. SCHURTER IEC outlets with integrated light pipes bring a simple yet improved solution to intelligent power distribution.

Today, the high density of servers in modern data centers requires the same compact design from a power distribution unit. With SCHURTER's appliance outlets, the integrated light pipes provide space and assembly cost savings over conventional strip designs, where LEDs are mounted in between outlets. Service technicians are able to clearly see which systems are working properly, or respond to required maintenance adjustments. The triggering of the LEDs is freely configurable, wherein each state can be clearly and independently represented. An outlet could, for example, signal an outage with a red LED, or a critical power consumption pattern with a yellow LED.

Family of Light Pipe Outlets

Newest of the family is the 6600-5 series, F style with IEC ratings of 10 A at 250 VAC and UL/CSA ratings of 15 A at 250 VAC and offers one, two or without integrated light pipe options for status display. The outlet's snap arms are currently designed for front panel dimensions of 1.7 or 2.0 mm. Versions for 1.0, 1.5 and 2.5 mm are in development, as well as a 16 A outlet with up to 4 light pipes.  

With higher power capabilities, the 4797 series, J style has IEC ratings of 16 A at 250 VAC and UL/CSA ratings of 20 A at 250 VAC.  This outlet meets the requirements of IEC 60335-1 for appliances in unattended use including the enhanced requirements of glow wire tests according to IEC 60695-2-12 and -13.

SCHURTER light pipe outlet family also includes the 4710 and 6610 series with insulation displacement contact (IDC) terminals, ideal for use in power distribution units and other equipment where multiple outlets are banked in series. These IDC outlets allow wires to be bussed across the terminals, thereby connecting common terminals all at once and significantly reducing labor costs.  The 4710 series, J style is IEC rated 16 A at 250 VAC and 20 A at 250 VAC by UL/CSA. The lower current version, 6610 series, is a style F outlet, rated 10 A at 250 VAC and 15A at 250 VAC respectively. The 4710 and 6610 series provide IDC terminals for 12 AWG/4.0 mm2 and in addition the 4710 offers a 10 AWG/ 6.0 mm2 wire size.  The new wire option allows for larger diameter wire for the 4710’s increased power capabilities.   

The IEC outlets provide a pull-out safety device to prevent against unintentional removal of the power cord. Depending on the arrangement of the outlets in the strip – horizontally or vertically – the V-Lock or cord retention systems with side latches can be used.