Collection: Power Distribution Units (PDUs)

Basic, metered, metered-by-outlet or switched

This is the decision that sets both the price and what the PDU can do for you later, and it is worth getting right first time because swapping a PDU means powering down a rack.

• Basic distributes power and nothing more. Right for a rack whose load is known and stable.
• Metered reports total current drawn, usually on a local display and over the network. This is what stops you discovering a circuit's limit by tripping it.
• Metered by outlet reports consumption per socket — the one to specify if you need per-customer, per-department or per-service figures, for colocation billing or energy reporting.
• Switched adds remote on/off per outlet, so an unresponsive device can be power-cycled without a site visit. For an unmanned or remote site this one feature often pays for the unit.

0U or rack-mount

0U units mount vertically in the rack's rear channel and consume no rack units, which is why they carry the high outlet counts — 24, 40, 42, 48 sockets. 1U and 2U horizontal units bolt into the rack face like any other device and suit smaller cabinets or installations where the vertical space is already occupied. Check the rack's depth and mounting arrangement before ordering a 0U unit, as length varies considerably.

Single phase or three phase

Ratings here run from 3.7 kW single phase at 16 A up to 43.5 kW three phase at 63 A. The supply into the room decides this, not the rack. Three-phase units distribute load across phases and are what high-density racks need; a single-phase unit cannot be substituted for one, and the inlet connector will not physically match.

Match the inlet as carefully as the outlets

Outlets are mostly C13 (standard kit) and C19 (higher-current devices such as blade enclosures and large UPS systems), with UK BS 1363 and Schuko variants also listed. The inlet matters just as much: IEC 60309 2P+E, 3P+N+PE, IEC 60320 C20, and the 332P6, 530P6 and 560P6 connectors all appear in this range. A PDU with the right outlets and the wrong inlet is useless until an electrician attends.

Count the outlets you will need, not the ones you have

Racks fill up. Specifying a PDU with no spare sockets guarantees a second PDU or a daisy chain within a year, and daisy-chained extension leads in a rack are how overloads happen. Leave headroom on both outlet count and current.

Brands

APC across the Easy Rack, NetShelter Rack PDU Advanced Gen 2 and AP ranges, with Eaton, ATEN, PowerWalker, Lanview, StarTech.com and Lindy.

Trade pricing and business accounts are available for UK organisations, and bulk orders are welcome — request a quote.