• • • DATA CENTRE MANAGEMENT • • •
Controlling cooling processes Both the RVG200 and SM500F units log the recorded data. With all data automatically logged and date stamped it is possible to analyse the peaks and troughs of energy use in the cooling system, presenting the opportunity to use the information to optimise processes, for example by maximizing cooling operations during the night when energy costs are lower. It is possible to take data at a ten second
recording rate and analyse the efficiency of the cooling process at a very fine resolution.
Turning data into change Not surprisingly given the amount of energy they consume, data centres are also a major source of carbon emissions, with current levels of 2 percent of global emissions being equivalent to the output of the entire aviation sector. With the amount data generated worldwide set
Temperature Tw is the temperature of the water
in the supply side of the system. This is the water entering the chiller unit and providing the chilling function for the cold air. Temperature Tc is the temperature of the water in the return side of the system; this is the water that has been used to cool the air and is now at a higher temperature. Finally, qv is the flow of water through the system at the supply side. To be able to correctly monitor energy
consumption, energy meters must be fitted to each individual section. ABB’s SM500F field-mount data recorder
can be programmed with a basic equation that can be used to calculate the total energy used, specifically: Return temperature – supply temperature x flow
x specific heat capacity It is not unusual to have data centres for
multiple businesses housed within a single building or group of buildings, where each company has its own section that contains their servers, with the building owner treating each area as a self-contained unit. In the same way as apartments in an apartment
building, all utilities into the building originate from the same source. To provide accurate billing to their customers, the data centre building management company must be able to calculate the amount of energy being used by each party. By measuring the flow and temperature of,
typically cold water going in, and the temperature of the warm water coming out we know how much energy is being extracted from that particular section of the data centre
For more accurate results The specific heat capacity of water or steam varies depending on its temperature. Using ABB’s RVG200 allows for much greater accuracy of energy usage as the device is programmed with the data from the IAPWS R7-97, Thermodynamic Properties of Water and Steam, giving the precise properties of water at every temperature and pressure. By accurately measuring the flow and
18 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • APRIL 2022
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
temperature of the water used for cooling, the RVG200 can deliver energy usage to a far greater degree of accuracy than the SM500F. That said the SM500F has had much success in
chilled water applications because of its consistency. It can be field mounted rather than mounted in a control panel and the level of accuracy is sufficient for most billing applications.
for continued exponential growth, the ability to accurately measure energy use in data centres, including for vital services such as cooling and climate control, will be vital in helping to devise the strategies needed to meet carbon neutrality targets such those set by the UK for 2030.
References 1 Data centres feel the heat over energy consumption –
https://www.egi.co.uk/news/data- centres-feel-the-heat-over-energy-consumption/
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