Faster. Modular. Prefabricated. Repeatable.

Those priorities are shaping how the next generation of data centers is being built.

And there is a tremendous amount of infrastructure left to build. U.S. data centers consumed about 176 TWh of electricity in 2023, representing 4.4% of total U.S. electricity use. By 2030, that figure could reach approximately 649 TWh, or 11.8% of U.S. electricity consumption. AI is accelerating the demand for new capacity. While securing enough power remains a major industry challenge, the physical systems supporting that capacity also have to be built and brought online quickly.

That pressure is pushing more data center construction toward modular designs and prefabricated electrical systems. By moving more assembly, configuration, and testing away from the jobsite, factory-built modular approaches can cut time-to-market significantly, in some cases by as much as 50%.

For electrical manufacturers, that changes the assignment: equipment needs to arrive ready for the application, and increasingly, ready to be repeated.

Standardization Starts with the Right Specification

Repeatable infrastructure works to shorten build time because teams do not have to solve the same problem at every installation while on site and against the clock. For power distribution, that means defining the specifics before equipment reaches the site:

• Current: What amperage does the application require?
• Cable: What type and length fit the installation?
• Connections: What input and output is needed at each end?
• Distribution: How does power need to be divided and delivered?

A standard product may be the perfect fit for every one of those requirements. But when changes have to be made in the field to keep the project moving, they can introduce excess cable, additional connections, adapters, or distribution equipment that was not otherwise necessary.

One workaround may seem manageable, but multiplied across a large deployment, it can quickly increase material requirements, installation effort, and overall system complexity. 

Cable Assemblies: Engineered to Fit, Ready to Install

This shift toward preconfigured infrastructure is part of the reason Walther Electric has expanded its cable assembly production.

Rather than addressing equipment connections during installation, cable assemblies can be custom-manufactured to the project’s required length and specifications, with the appropriate connectors pre-installed at each end.

Specified Cable + Required Length + Input Device + Output Device ————————— = a finished custom assembly built for its place in the system.

Cable assemblies are another part of the electrical build that can be resolved before it reaches the site. For projects prioritizing speed and repeatability, that's one less variable left for the field.

Custom PDUs: From One Solution to a Project Standard

The distribution point itself presents the same opportunity.

Walther Electric already manufactures a wide range of standard Portable Power Distribution Units (PDUs). If an existing PDU provides the input, outputs, protection, and configuration a project needs, the solution is straightforward.

But not every data center architecture fits an existing box.

Walther Electric can also engineer and manufacture PDUs around specific project requirements, rather than asking the project to adapt around an existing configuration.

	The first may be built to spec… …The next hundred can be built to the same spec.

That’s when customization becomes standardization. An off-the-shelf solution exists because a particular configuration has been needed before. If your project calls for something different, Walther Electric can engineer it to your requirements — and once that configuration is established, it can be manufactured consistently across the deployment.

What starts as custom becomes your project’s standard.

Powering the Digital Ecosystem at Scale

Data Center World Power brings the industry together around one of its biggest challenges: supporting rapid data center growth when demand for power is already outpacing supply.

Securing adequate power is only the first step. Once capacity is available, data center teams must transform it into reliable, operational infrastructure. The power distribution equipment supporting the facility must keep pace with accelerated project timelines, increased capacity demands, and the repeatable designs driving today’s data center builds.

That's the part of the challenge Walther Electric is equipped to help solve.

For custom configurations, whether cable assemblies or PDUs, the goal is simple: Get the specification right. Build it consistently. And be ready to do it again.

View Catalogs: Walther Electric Product Catalogs
Shop Products: Walter Electric Off-the-Shelf Solutions