Power systems
Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power
Learn the electrical side of a data centre: the power path from grid to rack, redundancy, UPS, generators, studies and PUE.
Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for electrical engineers and facility engineers moving into data centres. It has 9 modules and takes about 8.7 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$28.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Intermediate
- 8.7 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
- Lab practice in your browser
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$28.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- Electrical engineers and facility engineers moving into data centres
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: energy engineer, power systems engineer, solar or EV technician and site engineer. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- None required. ETAP is shown in the lessons; a spreadsheet is enough for the calculations. Hardware: none.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Trace the power path from utility to rack
- Compare N, N+1 and 2N redundancy and the Uptime Institute tiers
- Size UPS and cable current from rack loads
- Explain load flow, short-circuit and arc flash studies
- Calculate PUE and find where power is lost
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Electrical engineers and facility engineers moving into data centres.
Level: Intermediate. Intermediate. You should know basic electrical theory: voltage, current, power factor, single and three-phase supplies, and what a breaker does.
What you need
Software: None required. ETAP is shown in the lessons; a spreadsheet is enough for the calculations..
Hardware: None.. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Practise in the 3D labOptional
Try the module in the free 3D lab, in your browser.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
9 modules in order, at your own pace. 8.7 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1How a data centre works, from grid to rack, with lab practice: 14m
- 2Tiers, standards and redundancy, with lab practice: 7m
- 3Power fundamentals and calculations, with lab practice: 53m
- 4UPS, generators and the power train, with lab practice: 33m
- 5The data centre electrical power system in depth55m
- 6Power studies, arc flash and the digital twin51m
- 7Efficiency and PUE, with lab practice: 37m
- 8Monitoring, BMS and the AI data centre52m
Show the other 1 modules
- 9Final Assessment8m
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Nothing to install
ETAP is shown in the lessons; a spreadsheet is enough for the calculations.
Show what to download (1 tool)
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 01Free
LibreOffice
The Document Foundation
- Runs on
- Windows 10 or 11, macOS 11 or newer (Intel or Apple silicon), Linux
- Account
- None needed
- Size
- up to 1.5 GB of disk space on Windows
LibreOffice is free, open-source software under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, for any use including business. Calc is its spreadsheet.
Steps
- 1.Open the LibreOffice download page.
- 2.Check the page has picked your operating system, then select Download.
- 3.Run the installer (administrator rights are needed on Windows).
- 4.Start LibreOffice Calc for spreadsheet work.
- 5.Save as .xlsx if you need to share files with Excel users.
- Choose the latest main version unless your organisation asks for the older, more conservative release.
Official download pagelibreoffice.org
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Practise in the 3D lab
Fill a rack to its power limit on two feeds, ride out a utility failure on UPS and generator, and work out PUE from a month of meter readings.
- Safety walk and hall tourAI Data Centre labOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Safety walk and hall tour
- Rack power budgetAI Data Centre labOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Rack power budget
- Power event drillAI Data Centre labOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Power event drill
- PUE from a month of metersAI Data Centre labOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): PUE from a month of meters
Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.
Course project, about 12 hours
Electrical design basis for a 1.2 MW colocation data hall: load list, single-line description, design basis and integrated systems test
Write the electrical design basis for a new 1.2 MW IT data hall. You build the load list, describe the 2N single-line arrangement, size the equipment, and plan the integrated systems test that proves it. The sample pack shows each document for a colocation hall in Melbourne.
- 4documents in the pack
- 6steps to follow
- Laboptional: in the 3D lab
- 6things to hand in
- 12 hof work, at your pace
- Load listLoad list: Hall 1
- Single lineSingle-line description: Hall 1, 2N arrangement
- PlanElectrical design basis: Hall 1
- Commissioning procedureIntegrated systems test plan: Hall 1 electrical
Do it in the lab: 5 steps.
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$28.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
Electrical and Solar Energy
Eight short weeks of electrical basics, rooftop solar PV, batteries and EV charging, from site survey to testing and handover: notes, diagrams, a few videos and worked exercises. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
See the internshipMore free courses
Roles that use this skill
- Energy engineer
- Power systems engineer
- Solar or EV technician
- Site engineer
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: MEP Academy, ETAP Software, GogoTraining, Engineers Ireland, IEEE Young Professionals, Bryce Anderson, Engineering and Donuts, MSP TV, RagingWire Data Centers. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
MEP Academy · ETAP Software · GogoTraining · Bryce Anderson · Engineering and Donuts · EngineersIreland · IEEE Young Professionals · MSP TV · RagingWire Data Centers. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
Practise what you learn in the free 3D lab
Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.
- Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
- The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
- Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Practice in a free 3D lab in your browser, with nothing to install.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Who is the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course for?
Electrical engineers, MEP engineers and electrical technicians who want to work on data centres, and automation engineers moving into critical facilities. Basic electrical theory is assumed.
Why data centres?
AI has driven a wave of data centre construction, and every new hall needs its power path designed, built, tested and commissioned. The electrical side is where much of that design and commissioning work is.
How long does the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course take?
About 5.6 hours of video lessons across eight teaching modules, plus the notes, practice questions, the final assessment and an optional project of around 12 hours. At a few hours a week it fits into three to four weeks.
What is the project in the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course?
You write the electrical design basis for a 1.2 MW colocation data hall in Melbourne, Australia: a load list, a 2N single-line description, UPS, transformer and generator sizing, and an integrated systems test plan. A worked sample pack shows each document.
Do I need ETAP?
No. The ETAP lessons show how power studies are done. Every calculation in the course can be done by hand or in a spreadsheet.
Does this lead to an Uptime Institute or CDCP certification?
No. It is an EDWartens course built on free public lessons, credited on each module, and EDWartens is not affiliated with the Uptime Institute or any certification body. It covers concepts those programmes use, but it is not one of them.
Is the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course really free?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the project and the final assessment. The only paid item is the certificate, if you want it.
What certificate does the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course give?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a number anyone can verify on our site.
Do I have to use the lab?
No. The lab is optional practice. You can skip it whenever you like, and it never blocks your progress, the final assessment or your certificate.
Is the lab free?
Yes. Every lab level for this course opens in your browser, free, with nothing to install.
What topics does the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course cover, module by module?
The Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course has 9 modules. It opens with "How a data centre works, from grid to rack", goes through "Tiers, standards and redundancy", "UPS, generators and the power train", "Power studies, arc flash and the digital twin" and "Monitoring, BMS and the AI data centre" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course?
After the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course: Trace data centre power from the utility to the rack; Compare N, N+1 and 2N redundancy and the Uptime Institute tiers; Calculate rack current, kVA and kW for single and three-phase feeds. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course, and does it cost anything?
For the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course, software: None required. ETAP is shown in the lessons; a spreadsheet is enough for the calculations. Hardware: none. The course itself is free.
Is the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course suitable for me, and what level is it?
Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power is rated intermediate. Intermediate. You should know basic electrical theory: voltage, current, power factor, single and three-phase supplies, and what a breaker does. It is written for electrical engineers and facility engineers moving into data centres, and takes about 8.7 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course?
Skills from the Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power course (for example: trace data centre power from the utility to the rack) are used in roles such as energy engineer, power systems engineer, solar or EV technician and site engineer, and in data centre electrical engineer work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
Start free today
Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.