Data Center Power Cable Testing and Certification

As data centers scale to higher power densities and increasingly complex electrical architectures, manufacturers, operators and system integrators must address electrical, thermal and operational demands specific to these modern high-performance computing environments.

To support these emerging needs, UL Solutions developed UL 2137, the Outline of Investigation for Data Center Power Cable, introducing construction and safety requirements specifically for fixed intra-data-center power distribution.

UL 2137 helps build confidence that cabling is constructed and tested to meet the safety and performance expectations of today’s mission-critical computing environments.

In modern data center environments, cabling must support higher voltages and flexible routing inside dense architectures.

UL 2137 goes beyond the scope of portable industrial cables certified to UL 1650, the Standard for Portable Power Cable; it establishes a new category — data center power cable (Type DCPC) — designed specifically for intra-data-center applications.

With UL 2137 testing and certification, available exclusively through UL Solutions, you can demonstrate compliance with requirements tailored for the next generation of data center power distribution.

UL 2137 defines safety, performance and construction requirements for flexible power cables used within data centers, including cables intended to:

• Connect equipment to branch circuits
• Interconnect equipment within the data center environment

These cables are not intended for direct connection to electrical services, feeders or premises branch circuits.

UL 2137 applies to cables with the following attributes:

• Construction – Single insulated conductor with an overall jacket and multiple conductor cables with an overall jacket.
• Conductors – Flexible stranded copper conductors or optional Litz conductors, from 12 AWG to 1,000 kcmil (3.31 to 507 square millimeters (mm²))
• Voltage ratings – 2,000 volts alternating current (Vac) or volts direct current (Vdc)
• Temperature ratings – 75 C, 90 C, 105 C or 150 C

Optional low-smoke, halogen-free markings support data centers seeking enhanced internal environmental and safety performance.

UL 2137 fills critical gaps not addressed by UL 1650 by defining safety requirements specifically for power distribution in modern computing environments.

UL 2137 marks a major advancement in standardizing cabling for today’s rapidly evolving data center landscape. As workloads intensify and architectures become more power-dense, the adoption of data center power cabling certified to UL 2137 helps support safety and performance.