Busway and Busbars | Legrand United Kingdom

It’s useful to start with the most pressing challenge in data centers today: increasing capacity requirements. It’s not necessarily a new issue—research facilities have been dealing with high-power loads for years—but it’s now becoming the norm across a much broader range of data centers.

As the industry shifts, track busway systems are increasingly being deployed to manage high-capacity loads across large-scale deployments. We’re seeing the need for 80A, 125A, and even larger tap-offs to supply these high-density racks. In this context, the conversation moves beyond advantages and disadvantages—it becomes a necessity to use busway systems to meet power demands efficiently.

For traditional or legacy data centers with lower power densities, alternatives such as PDUs and cables may still be viable. However, these solutions can introduce inefficiencies, particularly in airflow management when cabling is run under the raised floor. This is not a concern with overhead busway systems, which help optimize airflow while providing easy scalability.

Another key advantage of busway systems is their adaptability. The tap-offs can be customized to fit different configurations and requirements. For colocation facilities, this means that when one client vacates a rack space, the infrastructure doesn’t need to be completely redesigned—only the tap-off units need to be changed to match the new tenant’s power specifications.

Speed of deployment is another major benefit. Track busways allow for the fastest possible power delivery to compute equipment, which is crucial in today’s fast-paced market where project timelines are increasingly compressed. With power demands rising and hyperscale expansion accelerating, deployment speed is a critical factor.

Another significant advantage is visibility. Modern busway systems come equipped with real-time monitoring and metering capabilities. This allows operators to walk through a data hall, look up, and instantly see power usage and potential anomalies at a glance. Having this level of transparency is incredibly valuable from an operational perspective.

Ultimately, busways provide flexibility, scalability, rapid deployment, and better visibility—all of which align perfectly with today’s data center requirements. 

To summarize, the biggest advantage of a track busway system is the ability to deliver high power in a much more compact and efficient manner. If you compare it to traditional cabling, just think about how many individual cables you’d need to supply 1,000 amps to a row of racks. A busway system significantly reduces the space requirements while maintaining flexibility.