Industry opinion Energy excellence
The low carbon agenda offers opportunities for contractors to implement new – and smarter – technologies, explains Dr Shaun Smith, technical director of the Data Centre Alliance
E
very day I read an article or hear some statement made about global warming, climate change or the energy crisis. I think historians will defi nitely look back on this period and, more than likely, label it the
‘Green Period’ or the ‘Energy Era’. Whatever the debates, and whatever the crisis, one thing is certain – the way in which we use energy from here on in will be forever changing, and the clearest message today is that ‘we cannot continue to use or waste energy as frivolously as we have, so we have to take action, now’. Thankfully, within the mission-critical data centre industry, some are doing just that. One good example of this is Facebook’s year-old data
centre in Oregon, USA. Free air cooling, purpose-built low energy servers, and swapping uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems for DC power racks are just a few of the key energy effi ciency features they have deployed. Yes, this may not be the route that an investment bank may take, but it is fi t-for-purpose for Facebook.
Carbon cutting The data centre industry is on a par with the aviation industry for energy use and, therefore, carbon footprint. It is reported that data centres consume approximately three per cent of the world’s electricity production – that’s 345 million MWh per year, or £35 billion each year, based on the UK’s current average tariff. And the cost to the planet is 183 million tonnes of CO2
and function, should be as energy effi cient as possible within the boundaries of the business requirement; this is ‘energy effi cient enablement’. I see data centres that are over engineered, poorly operated and, even today, facilities that are being built with some major opportunities for being energy smart missed. So what does this mean for the electrical contracting
The digital boom should help us become much smarter with energy management and operational excellence
per year. It is
no wonder that, as we are amidst a digital explosion, many of us feel we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. This is not, however, meant to be a picture of doom and
gloom, but an overview of the scope for potential energy savings – and the opportunities this presents to develop our industry to be more ‘energy smart’. The digital boom should help us become much smarter with energy management and operational excellence, especially within electrical systems across all technologies, including power distribution, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), battery charging, HVAC control, backup generation, ICT power usage, and so on. We all know that a data centre has one purpose –
to meet the needs of the business. For whatever that business function is, energy effi ciency will always take second place. Why? Because there’s no place in the world for a facility that makes the headlines for being ‘green’ but is not fi t-for-business purpose. However, there is no doubt that every data centre, whatever the size
industry? In my view, it means great opportunities for new technology implementation, much smarter and more integrated ways of controlling power and energy, better building management systems (BMS) and energy monitoring systems (EMS), and data centres that are not just modular and fl exible to meet the needs of today and tomorrow, but are hybrid in design for both power and cooling. This means training and more expertise is required to ensure the safety of the data centre future, whereby installers and electrical contractors are fully conversant with all types of technology, whether it be modern complex UPS or cooling systems, or low-energy alternatives. Both cooling and UPS are two key systems that can deliver huge energy savings. Many data centres are opting for free
cooling systems where the ambient temperature is used for cooling, and a shift away from refrigerant-based cooling
is evident. However, there still remains a need for refrigerant- based cooling as a backup where the resilience and business need requires. Therefore, we are seeing sophisticated hybrid cooling systems that are primarily designed for effi ciency and low energy but have integrated conventional cooling technologies for redundancy and resilience. This, in turn, has required greater need for smarter control. Additionally, the development of passive and ultra-effi cient
UPS systems is making its mark in the industry, offering simple alternative approaches to providing continuous power. Again, it requires a greater level of control, not just within the UPS system, but integrated into the whole facility. My closing comment would be that in order for the UK
About the author
Dr Shaun Smith Dr Shaun Smith is technical director of Data Centre Alliance and principal at CS Technology.
electrical industry to maintain its well-established reputation – especially when it comes to building data centres – we must embrace and help develop new and smarter ways of integrating alternative, but highly-effi cient, technologies into mission-critical environments, while understanding and leading the way with energy management and power control within these facilities. A smarter energy approach can only lead to better business.
January 2012 ECA Today 19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72