The construction of 5G network is inseparable from the design points of multi-mode low power consumption, and 5G power supply solutions play an important role between power supply devices and base station communication terminals.
The overall architecture and challenges of 5G networks
As we all know, the three major services of 5G mainly include enhanced capacity, access to massive terminals, and ultra-high reliability and ultra-low latency communication.Among them,enhanced mobile broadband can realize 3D/ultra-high-definition video, high-definition voice, and cloud office. Ultra-reliable and low-latency communication enables industrial automation, autonomous driving, high-reliability applications, and mobile healthcare.
Figure 1: Three major 5G services
According to Xiong Yong, the overall framework of the 5G network is mainly transmitted by UE, received by the site, and then transmitted to the third-level DC to realize the construction of infrastructure such as computing, storage and network.
Figure 2: The overall framework of the 5G network
Xiong pointed out that higher frequency bands and increased data traffic have led to a surge in the number of sites. According to relevant statistics, the number of DC computer rooms, macro stations and small cell sites continues to grow, especially small cell sites. At the same time, the demand for energy for 5G networks is also showing different directions. Among them, the number of DC computer rooms has increased, requiring more reliable and efficient power supply solutions; The power consumption of 5G base station equipment has increased significantly, providing more challenges to power supply. Small Cell sites have exploded, and their installation methods are mainly poles and wall mounts.
The overall framework of 5G network energy is mainly composed of three parts: DC computer room, macro station and independent AAU/micro station. The products and systems applied to them vary. The DC computer room mainly promotes the high-voltage DC + mains direct power supply solution, which is reliable, efficient and low TCO, saving 40% of the investment in power supply equipment and 10% of electricity costs. Secondly, the macro station mainly promotes the expansion of the station, reuses old battery modules and batteries, and saves investment; High-density and high-power embedded power supply + intelligent lithium battery is recommended to save space and improve efficiency. Independent AAU/micro stations mainly promote the PAD power & battery solution, self-cooling and heat dissipation to improve reliability, pole tower to reduce line loss and improve efficiency, and intelligent power supply to save operation and maintenance costs.
Figure 3: Overall framework of 5G network energy
5G power delivery solutions
Focusing on the core values of customers, that is, high reliability, low TCO, and achieving good and cost-effective results, is the preferred 5G power solution. Efficiency, intelligence and smooth expansion have become the metrics for the preferred solution for 5G power supply. So, how can these three criteria be met?
Xiong Yong pointed out that high efficiency can be achieved by improving power conversion efficiency, reducing losses in high-voltage power supply, thickening wire diameters, shortening power supply lines, reducing line losses and saving manpower through efficient maintenance.
5G core equipment rooms (central DC, regional DC) and large aggregation equipment rooms can be applied. Mainstream manufacturers' 5G core equipment room equipment (servers, routing, switching, etc.) and aggregation equipment (OTN, PTN, etc.) can support high-voltage DC power supply.
Figure 4: A 5G regional DC computer room uses high-voltage DC power supply site photos
Intelligence can realize intelligent peak shifting, solve the shortage of mains power, and save investment. Through power monitoring, setting the mains capacity, using the battery to balance the power supply, and supplementing the mains difference at peak times, not only can reduce the transformation of the mains power, save investment, but also save coordination time and achieve rapid 5G deployment.
For example, in the 5G power intelligent peak shaving test station in Guizhou, Guizhou Tower selected indoor and outdoor typical scenarios for power transformation in May to June 2019 in response to the problem of external power transformation caused by the high power consumption demand of 5G, and solved the bottleneck problem of insufficient utility capacity of 5G sites quickly and efficiently and at low cost through the expansion of site power capacity and intelligent scheduling of intelligent peak shaving schemes.
Figure 5: 5G power intelligent peak shaving test station (Guizhou)
In addition, smart lithium batteries can realize intelligent boosting, intelligent sharing and intelligent anti-theft; Intelligent monitoring to solve multi-energy, multi-service management, unified management and scheduling, maximize energy saving, save electricity costs, and realize intelligent sharing, measure the electricity and electricity consumption ratio of each type of business, and set the power down of services as needed; Provide power on demand, communicate with AAU or wireless management background, grasp the input voltage and power requirements of wireless equipment in real time, adjust power supply voltage and power, reduce losses and achieve a state of intelligent collaboration.
The smooth expansion of the power supply can protect the existing investment and reduce the impact on the power supply of existing network equipment. Use battery sharing to realize intelligent parallel use and protect existing batteries; Expand with power distribution to meet 5G needs.
Deploy 5G communication equipment and expand power supply facilities on existing 2G/3G/4G network physical sites.
Figure 6: Key points of co-site power supply expansion
The core principles of the 5G co-site power supply solution are to focus on the core values of customers, namely saving (lowest overall cost), fast (shortest transformation period), easy (easiest to implement), and less (least impact on the existing network).
Figure 7: Overall recommendations for co-site power supply
At present, ZTE's communication power supply mainly includes large power supplies for core computer rooms, transmission equipment rooms and data centers, indoor power supplies, outdoor power supplies, embedded power supplies for macro base stations, and Pad power supplies and wall-mounted power supplies for micro stations and small-capacity stations. The following are some of the relevant power supply solutions provided by ZTE in the speech.
Figure 8: Common site scheme of indoor 600A power system
Figure 9: Outdoor co-station power scheme: the new power supply system is powered
Figure 10: Outdoor co-site power supply scheme: reuse existing cabinets
5G power supply part of the product introduction
1. Central computer room
The central computer room is mainly powered by HVDC and 48VDC. Among them, HVDC is the development trend of power supply, which mainly depends on the power supply requirements of the main equipment in the DC computer room. ZTE discrete power supply ZXDU88 S402 is widely used in domestic mobile, telecom and Unicom, with more than 1,000 sets shipped every year.
Figure 11: ZTE discrete power supply ZXDU88 S402
2. Outdoor microstation/independent AAU (RRU)
The outdoor microstation/independent AAU (RRU) scenario is typically applied to lamp pole stations, rooftop macro stations, Layuan stations, AAU decentralized deployment, high-speed rail, expressway, and tunnel stations in urban areas. The core values of the PadPower solution are characterized by:
Full outdoor: zero land occupation, more flexible, fast and low-cost deployment;
Fully self-cooling: higher reliability and higher product efficiency;
Full efficiency: the system efficiency can reach 97%, the power supply system is closer to the electrical equipment, and the line loss is less;
Smarter: No commissioning, no maintenance, fast deployment, save O&M costs.
3. Battery: smart lithium battery
Intelligent lithium battery cooperates with power supply system to continuously output 57VDC voltage to improve the distance; At the same distance, line losses can be reduced, and it can also be directly mixed with existing battery to protect existing investment.
Intelligent parallel connection does not require external circuit partners, higher reliability, lower investment costs, and the mixing of new and old lithium batteries supports batch investment and saves initial investment. In addition, the smart lithium battery can only be unlocked if it is offline (stolen) automatically, authorized to unlock, and built-in GPS tracking can be used to determine the location of the battery. Therefore, smart lithium batteries can realize intelligent boosting, intelligent mixing and intelligent anti-theft at the same time.
Figure 12: Smart lithium battery
