Data centers demand consistent and efficient power to ensure uninterrupted operations. Effective power management is critical—not only to prevent costly downtime but also to optimize energy efficiency, support high-density workloads, and reduce long-term hardware stress and costs. To meet these challenges, a U.S.-based energy storage manufacturer developed a plug-and-play UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) system designed to provide intelligent and dependable energy backup for modern data centers. In this case study, we will explore how Premio’s AIO Series helps visualize and manage this battery system, ensuring real-time monitoring, seamless integration, and reliable performance.
Challenges
- A rugged and reliable way to display real-time UPS conditions and alerts
- HMI with 3x LAN ports and at least 1x serial port to support RS-485
- Hardware security and compliance for critical infrastructure
- Finding the right hardware partner to minimize vendor lock-in features for more flexibility
Solution
- Premio’s AIO-W210-ASL-3L All In One IP65 Industrial Touchscreen Computer
- Variety of I/O supported
- Onboard TPM 2.0 and NDAA and TAA Compliance
- Open hardware standards
Benefits
- Custom BIOS/OS image support
- Strong application engineering team to assist with a variety of unique deployments
Company background
This US based manufacturer is a leading innovator in advanced energy storage systems, specializing in supercapacitor technology for industrial and renewable energy applications. The company combines cutting-edge materials science with precision engineering to deliver high-performance, reliable power solutions for mission-critical environments.
The Challenges
Rugged and Reliable HMI
Having a hardened, purpose-built HMI is important when deploying into mission-critical sites, such as data centers. Using commercial grade components increases the chances of operational downtime, which will happen more often than not compared to HMIs with industrial grade components.
Multi-Network and I/O Connectivity
Specific I/O was needed to meet the connectivity, redundancy and legacy requirements of data centers. Finding HMI vendors with the requested I/O in a specific form factor with certain technical features and regulatory compliances proved to be more challenging than expected for the customer.
Hardware Security and Compliance
Mission critical sites, like data centers, require hardened network and physical hardware security. Having certain on-board security features, as well as product certifications/compliances, was uncompromisable.
Open Hardware Standards
Some HMI vendors have certain features that will “lock-in” their customers. Whether it be proprietary software and/or hardware parts, this limits the customers’ freedom in their system architecture.
The Solution
Premio’s AIO Series IP65-rated All in One Touchscreen Computers
The AIO Series has a fanless design, allowing it to operate within a -20C to 60C temperature range. Furthermore, the front panel boasts an IP65 rating, as well as 7H/IK07 surface hardness for increased durability.
Multi-Network and I/O Connectivity
Having 3x LAN ports was a must for this application. All 3x were utilized for connectivity, redundancy and system integration capabilities. Besides needing 3x LAN ports, at least 1x serial port to support RS-485 was required as well. This was used to support Modbus TCP protocols, which is important in datacenter and supercapacitor communication.
Hardware Security and Compliance
TPM 2.0 and NDAA and TAA Compliance were needed to meet the stringent security requirements of some data centers. TPM 2.0 allows the hardware to be securely booted, which helps prevent malicious firmware updates. NDAA and TAA Compliance are crucial for all government entities and becoming increasingly popular in the public sector as well.
Open Hardware Standards
All of Premio’s products use processors from Intel’s embedded product line, which will be supported for up to 10 years dependent on where we are in the lifecycle (compared to 3-5 years on the consumer line). The rest of the HMI components as well have been purposefully sourced to have long-life product support.
The Benefits
Custom BIOS/OS image support
Custom BIOS/OS image support delivers tailored performance, security, and reliability for industrial applications. By stripping away unnecessary software and hardening the system, it minimizes vulnerabilities while optimizing resource usage for specific workloads like real-time UPS monitoring. For critical infrastructure, where consistency and compliance matter, custom images enable uniform scaling across global deployments.
Strong Application Engineering Team
Premio’s strong technical support team ensures rapid issue resolution, minimizing costly downtime in critical operations like data centers. With over 35 years of expertise in hardware integration challenges, we can provide proactive troubleshooting and firmware updates, which reduces deployment risks. We act as a trusted partner, not just a vendor, which ensures our customers’ systems run seamlessly.
Conclusion
By choosing to partner with Premio, the customer has successfully deployed the AIO-W210-ASL-3L into their supercapacitor solutions. Our all-in-one panel PC delivers a hardened, flexible HMI tailored for data center supercapacitor/UPS systems, solving critical challenges in reliability, connectivity, security, and vendor independence.