Site Assessments and Special Investigations ... 1
!
Guides/Desktop Studies ... 1
!
1
!
Introduction ... 2!
1.1
!
Background ... 2!
1.2
!
Working Group Profile ... 2!
1.3
!
Overall Objectives ... 2!
2
!
Working Group Participants ... 4!
2.1
!
Participant List ... 4!
3
!
Scope of Work ... 5!
4
!
Data Centre SWG Workshops ... 6!
4.1
!
Initiation Workshop – 15 September 2009 ... 6!
Free Cooling ... 6
!
Operating Temperature Increase ... 6
!
EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Efficiency ... 6
!
Virtualisation ... 6
!
4.2
!
Second Workshop – 28 April 2010 ... 7!
5
!
Special Investigations ... 8!
5.1
!
Resulting Initiatives ... 8!
6
!
Guides/Desktop Studies ... 10!
6.1
!
Increasing Energy Efficiency in Data Centres ... 10!
6.2
!
Energy-Efficient Design (EED) in Data Centres ... 10!
6.3
!
EN160001 Certification for Data Centres ... 11!
6.4
!
Practical Options for Retrofitting Data Centres ... 11!
6.5
!
Humidity in Data Centres ... 11!
7
!
Opportunities for Further Investigation ... 12!
7.1
!
Guides/Desktop Studies ... 12!
Consolidation and Virtualisation ... 12
!
7.2
!
Demonstration Projects ... 12!
Free Air Cooling ... 12
!
Evaporative Air Cooling ... 12
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Better Air Management ... 12
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Metering ... 12
!
9.3
!
Desktop Studies ... 14!
9.4!
Overall Progress ... 15!
9.5!
Next Phase ... 15!
1
Executive Summary
The Data Centre Special Working Group (SWG) was set up in September 2009, as a focus group to highlight energy efficiency best practice and to drive energy efficiency projects in the Irish data-centre industry.
The SWG participants represent a variety of backgrounds where the data centre is (i) internal infrastructure, (ii) core business or (iii) ancillary business. Furthermore, each participant is pursuing their own journey in terms of increasing energy efficiency; some had already undertaken energy efficiency initiatives, other had carried out some preliminary examinations but undertaken few actions, and others were only beginning to look at energy efficiency issues.
Phased Approach
In deference to the variety of backgrounds and the different energy efficiency priorities, the SWG took a phased approach to its workload:
• Phase 1: Site Assessments and Special Investigations: It was best to commence with a
round of site assessments, to evaluate each participant’s current situation in terms of energy consumption as well as the overall use of cooling technology, and to identify potential saving opportunities through focused Special Investigations at each site.
• Phase 2 Demonstration Projects: The site investigations led to a set of demonstration
projects based on energy improvements by participating companies. These projects provide very topical case studies for the data-centre industry in Ireland.
Outputs
Site Assessments and Special Investigations
Site assessments were carried out for five of the SWG participants. The reports are confidential to the companies concerned. The outputs of the site assessments are being used to drive a series of data-centre energy efficiency initiatives that will eventually help to reduce energy consumption and running costs.
Guides/Desktop Studies
In parallel to the site assessment activities, the SWG commissioned a set of guides to provide practical guidelines to the data-centre industry in Ireland on the following issues:
1. Increasing Energy Efficiency in Data Centres 2. Energy-Efficient Design (EED) in Data Centres 3. EN16001 Certification for Data Centres
2
1
Introduction
1.1
Background
The Data Centre Special Working Group is part of the SEAI’s Energy Agreements Programme (EAP), which supports large industrial energy users in implementing energy efficiency projects. EAP participants agree to implement the EN16001 Energy Management Standard and to pursue an aggressive programme of energy efficiency action and investment, in return for relationship support, advice, networking and financial supports. An important enabler for continuous performance improvement from the EAP is a commitment by the members to conduct Special Investigations of significant energy uses.
As an initiative within the EAP, the SEAI has developed the Special Working Group (SWG) annual initiative. An SWG is formed by SEAI with members drawn from either the EAP or the Large Industry Energy Network (LIEN). SWGs may focus on a particular area of technology, an area of special interest to the programme members, or the Energy Management System (EnMS). In this instance the SWG is made up of participants from the data-centre industry. Other SWGs have focused on the areas of HVAC, Refrigeration, Alternative Methodologies, Compressed Air, Energy-Efficient Design, the Food and Dairy Sector, and Large Commercial Buildings. The SWGs develop new bodies of knowledge and act as sources of Special Investigation opportunities.
The Data Centre SWG is focused on an area in which many other initiatives are taking place internationally:
• The Green Grid1 is a non-profit, open industry consortium of end-users, policymakers,
technology providers, facility architects, and utility companies collaborating to improve the resource efficiency of data centres and business computing ecosystems.
• The EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres2 was created in 2008 in response to increasing
energy consumption in data centres and the need to reduce the related environmental, economic and energy supply security impacts. Its aim is to inform and stimulate data-centre operators and owners to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner.
• The ISO/IECJTC 1 Study Group on Energy Efficiency of Data Centres (EEDC)3 was
established in 2009 to investigate market requirements for standardisation in the data-centre industry.
1.2
Working Group Profile
The Data Centre SWG is made up of companies that provide data-centre services as part of a commercial offering or as an internal service to other parts of the business. Therefore the SWG has participants that compete against each other for external business. This competition factor is a unique feature of the data-centre SWG, and is accentuated by the inherent security-consciousness of an industry that must guarantee information security and business continuity for its client base. Nevertheless, the common energy consumption issues shared by all members of the working group created an openness that enabled participants to share their experiences and concerns.
1.3
Overall Objectives
The overall objectives of the SWG are to:
• Facilitate networking within data-centre organisations in Ireland
1www.thegreengrid.org
2re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/energyefficiency/html/standby_initiative_data_centers.htm 3www.jtc1eedc.org
3
• Assist participating companies in achieving best performance through focused Special
Investigations
• Understand best technology and practices
• Identify areas for improvement and improvement projects
• Focus particularly on Special Investigation opportunities among the SWG participants • Disseminate best practice
• Provide information on the types of improvement projects undertaken by SWG participants,
in terms of the delivery and outputs of the projects
This report documents the progress of the working group, describing the workshops held and the outputs delivered in terms of Special Investigations and guide documents. It then outlines the opportunities for further investigation as the working group continues its work, and concludes with recommendations for future activities.
4
2
Working Group Participants
The participants in the Data Centre SWG cover three main categories:
1. Data Centre as Internal Infrastructure: Companies in this category have in-house data-centre and server-room infrastructure used to address the company’s own data-data-centre requirements. The data-centre facilities are (usually) not envisaged as commercial facilities to be marketed and contracted to other organisations outside the company. Energy efficiency initiatives are driven by internal corporate efficiency programmes.
2. Data Centre as Core Business: This type of business is focused on supplying data-centre services commercially to the market. The data centre is its core business, and energy efficiency projects are driven internally by corporate efficiency programmes, and increasingly externally by the energy efficiency requirements of its client base.
3. Data Centre as Ancillary Business: Companies in this category market data-centre services as part of its their overall business service offering. A common example of this type of business is a telecommunications operator, selling data storage services as part of its suite of fixed or mobile telecommunications services. Energy efficiency projects are driven internally by corporate efficiency programmes, and externally by customer requirements.
2.1
Participant List
The following organisations/companies participated in the Data Centre SWG:
Company Category Representative Role
SEAI Project Sponsor John O’Sullivan Project Owner Varosoft
Consulting Consultancy Padraig Coakley SWG Project Coordinator Bank of Ireland Internal Infrastructure Bernard Higgins, David McCormack Participating Company BT Ancillary Business Finbarr O’Sullivan Participating Company Eircom Ancillary Business Owen Wynne, Paul Nolan Participating Company EMC Internal Infrastructure Kevin Barry, Luke Bardsley Participating Company IBM Ancillary Business Jimmy McDonough Participating Company Intel Corporation Internal Infrastructure Keith Ellis, Aengus Nolan, John Weir Participating Company Interxion Core Business Karl Mulhall Participating Company Vodafone Ancillary Business Patrick Byrne, Patrick Newell Participating Company The SWG is supported by a small technical panel assigned by SEAI, as follows:
1. RPS Engineering Services 2. PM Group
5
3
Scope of Work
As outlined in the previous chapter, the participants come from three different sectors of the data-centre industry, each with their own set of energy efficiency challenges and drivers.
The overall aims of the Data Centre SWG are to:
1. Assess Current Status: Assess each participant’s data-centre site, provide support for a focused Special Investigation for each participant, and recommend actions / next steps to increase energy efficiency.
2. Plan Next Steps: On the basis of the Special Investigations, each participant is to plan and gain corporate approval for energy efficiency initiatives or projects.
3. Implement Energy Efficiency Projects: Once approval and funding are in place, each participant will implement their chosen projects. Where agreed with the participants, the SWG will document these projects as demonstration projects. This collateral will then be disseminated through the SEAI’s EAP website as examples of best practice to inform and encourage non-participating data-centre firms planning to implement similar projects. 4. Disseminate Best Practice: As a parallel activity, the SWG will produce guides (desktop
studies) on issues pertinent and applicable to the data-centre industry as a whole. Each SWG initiative goes through the phases of Piloting, Implementation, Replication and
Standardisation.
5. Promote and Support Special Investigations: The SWG facilitates participants undertaking Special Investigations or feasibility studies by helping to identify suitable projects and assisting with the administration of funding, where applicable.
6
4
Data Centre SWG Workshops
The Data Centre SWG carried out two workshops during the year.
4.1
Initiation Workshop – 15 September 2009
Four main themes were covered in the initiation workshop:• Free Cooling
• Operating Temperature Increase
• EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency • Virtualisation
Free Cooling
The issues discussed included:
i. Retrofit challenges, especially the prospect of at least partial shutdowns ii. Space and the challenge of handling large volumes of air
iii. Locating and addressing localised hotspots
iv. Supplier’s warranties that are over-specified, leading to overcooling of the servers and other equipment
v. Implications for the effective fire suppression of the data centre using free cooling The working group discussed potential projects, examples being:
• Assessment of suitability of a particular site for free cooling
• Suitability of existing CRAC infrastructure in a free cooling environment
• Potential for data centres in Ireland to operate exclusively with free cooling, i.e. without
cooling infrastructure
Operating Temperature Increase
Increasing operating temperatures increases the potential use of free cooling and reduces the use of chillers. However, it also reduces the time to react in the event of a fire or cooling infrastructure breakdown.
The working group discussed potential projects, such as:
• A special investigation on increasing operating temperature on a site in Ireland • An audit of chiller performance in a designated data centre
EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Efficiency
The new Codeof Conduct on Data Centres Energy Efficiency was released by the EU in late 2008w. The group agreed that the applicability and relevance of the code required further examination, and that the code required further dissemination and promotion within the Irish data-centre industry.
The potential output of this theme is that a review of the Code of Conduct be undertaken by the SWG.
Virtualisation
Though virtualisation is recognised by the group as an established technology, its energy efficiency benefits are unclear. A potential output is a desktop study examining the issue in its practical application in a data centre, and the actual benefits in terms of decreased energy usage.
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4.2
Second Workshop – 28 April 2010
The workshop began with a review of the site assessments undertaken for five of the SWG participants, focusing on the findings of each review and their applicability to the data-centre industry in general.
There followed an examination of potential candidate demonstration projects arising from the site assessments, leading to the development of case studies that would demonstrate best practice to the data-centre industry in Ireland. The candidate projects included:
i. Free Cooling: Free cooling is the use of air, when conditions permit, to cool a data centre, thus reducing the use of energy-intensive chillers. The estimated annual energy savings are 0.5 GWh.
ii. Evaporative Cooling: Evaporative cooling is the cooling of a data centre through the evaporation of water. In this instance, an existing water tower is used to pre-cool return water to the data-centre chillers. The potential annual energy savings are 1.1 GWh. iii. Implementing EN16001 Certification: The successful application to a data centre of
the Energy Management System Standard EN16001.
iv. Metering: The implementation of a metering regime to determine and monitor the different types of energy consumption in a data centre.
v. Cold Aisle Separation: This confinesthe cold supply air so that it will not mix with the heated air, to ensure that cold air rather than mixed air is directed at IT equipment. Cold air is used efficiently, supporting the more efficient use of cooling infrastructure. vi. Increased Cold Air Supply Temperature: Once a separation of cold air and heated air
has taken place, this permits more free cooling hours per year.
vii. Underfloor Airflow: The removal/rationalisation of underfloor cabling coupled with optimal positioning of floor grilles helps to direct cold air more effectively.
viii. Lighting: The use of energy-efficient lighting infrastructure reduces overall energy consumption.
ix. Virtualisation: The use of virtualisation technologies and their impact on overall energy efficiency.
The working group then explored the development of desktop studies (in addition to those already developed). Two topics were highlighted in this regard:
i. Relative Humidity ii. Virtualisation
Finally, there was a discussion on broader issues related to data centres: i. The re-use of heat generated by data centres
ii. The potential role of SEAI in convincing insurance providers to data centres of the importance and safety of energy efficiency initiatives, to ensure that data centres are not penalised for undertaking those initiatives.
iii. The application of lessons learned (from implementing efficiencies in data centres) to smaller server rooms
8
5
Special Investigations
Site assessments and special investigations were carried out for five of the SWG participants. There were two main aims behind each site assessment:
1. Examine the energy use for each data centre
2. Identify energy savings opportunities, and, taking on board the unique energy efficiency drivers in each organisation, recommend a set of actions to help increase energy efficiency The five special investigations completed were as follows:
1. The first investigation compared the savings and costs of a dry cooler solution versus an evaporative solution. The evaporative solution coming came out ahead in terms of capital cost and return on investment. The energy savings for the proposed evaporative solution are estimated at 1.1 GWh per annum.
2. The second investigation examined two energy savings scenarios: (i) the installation of a new chilled water system with a free cooling tower inserted into the chilled water circuit, and (ii) the establishment of a balanced HVAC system with the same airflow as before and with modulated fresh air supply. The energy savings for each scenario are estimated at around 0.5 GWh per annum.
3. The third site investigation examined general savings actions across the IT infrastructure, the cooling infrastructure, and operations and maintenance. The report identifies the potential for an annual energy saving of up to 8.3 GWh by implementing measures such as: (i) closed cold aisles with no mixing of hot and cold air, (ii) increased cold supply air temperature, (iii) free cooling on the chilled water system, and (iv) increased cooling coil temperature. 4. The fourth site investigation investigated the energy consumption of the data centre from
electrical and thermal perspectives. The assessment examines the operations and
maintenance, and control aspects of the centre and provides an EN16001 gap analysis. The report recommends a phased implementation of energy initiatives, emphasising the importance of effective metering, and includes measures such as hot aisle/cold aisle separation and the retrofitting of a free cooling solution. Estimated annual energy savings are 2 GWh.
5. The fifth site investigation examined the mechanical cooling and lighting systems of a data centre. The report outlines the potential for savings through better airflow and by raising the air temperatures within the centre. An analysis of the lighting system recommends that the lighting system be replaced with higher-efficiency light fittings and PIR controls.
In these investigations, energy-saving opportunities of more than 12 GWh per annum were quantified.
5.1
Resulting Initiatives
Each participant is using the outputs of their special investigation to drive a series of data-centre energy efficiency initiatives that will eventually help to reduce energy consumption and running costs. Examples of energy efficiency initiatives are:
• Free Cooling: The installation of free cooling infrastructure through the combined
installation of cooling infrastructure such as dry air coolers, CRAC units retrofitted with dry cooling coils and the introduction of outside air.
• Evaporative Cooling: The use of an existing water tower to pre-cool return water to the
data-centre chillers.
• Air Management: Better airflow management through initiatives such as the separation of
hot and cold air (Cold Aisle/Hot Aisle Separation), and blanking off unused slots in racks.
• Airflow Research and Understanding: Undertaking a detailed survey to better understand
the actual airflows and air temperatures in a data centre, leading to more efficient operation of CRAC units and optimal positioning of floor grilles and aisle containment units.
9
• Metering: Implementing a metering regime to determine and monitor the different types of
energy consumption, such as data-centre electrical demand, IT load, cooling load, transmission losses, UPS losses, lighting load, and so on.
• Increased Cold Air Operating Temperatures: When the mixing of hot and cold air has been
reduced or eliminated, the cold air supply temperature could be gradually increased, leading to better compressor Co-efficiency of Performance (COP), and allowing more free cooling hours per year.
• Lighting: The use of high-efficiency light fillings and Passive Infra-Red sensors (PIRs) to
10
6
Guides/Desktop Studies
The SWG commissioned five desktop studies to provide practical guidelines to the data-centre industry in Ireland on the following issues:
1. Increasing Energy Efficiency in Data Centres 2. Energy-Efficient Design (EED) in Data Centres 3. EN160001 Certification for Data Centres 4. Practical Options for Retrofitting Data Centres
6.1
Increasing Energy Efficiency in Data Centres
The study provides an overview of the most common Free Cooling systems, describing the impact of the various savings initiatives on energy consumption.
Contents:
1. Description of Most Common Type of Free-Cooling Systems: i. Cooling Tower
ii. Free Cooling with Direct Supply of Outside Air iii. Free Air Cooling
iv. Swamp Cooling v. Liquid Cooling
2. Design Flaws – lists the common reasons why server rooms are not designed with efficient cooling systems.
3. Savings Initiatives – first identifying the actual demand and then following the listed recommendations relating to air management, increased operating temperatures, etc. 4. Quantifying the Impact of Savings – provides tools to calculate possible savings from
implementing the Savings Initiatives:
• Reduce bypass and mixing of cold air supply air – impact on room temperature demand • Cold supply air temperature demand – impact on Co-efficiency of Performance (COP) • Cold supply air flow demand – impact on energy consumption
• Free cooling of chilled water – impact on energy consumption
• Free cooling with outside air, HVAC-style – humidification impact on energy
consumption
6.2
Energy-Efficient Design (EED) in Data Centres
The EED study outlines current best practice in Energy-Efficient Design (EED), focusing on the fundamentals of reducing the energy consumption of data centres.
Contents:
1. Energy-Efficient Design – describes the EED organisation and EED process. 2. Strategic Decisions – outlines the importance of:
• Site Selection • Resilience
• Selection of ICT Software and Hardware
3. Best-Practice Energy-Efficient Design & Technologies – highlights the consideration of:
• ICT Equipment and Services
• M&E System Design, Equipment and Building Integrity • Control and Measurement
• Operation and Maintenance • Good Housekeeping
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6.3
EN160001 Certification for Data Centres
The guide covers the application of EN16001 to data centres, bearing in mind the requirements of the Code of Conduct on Data Centres (CoC). It identifies significant common ground between
EN16001 and CoC for organisations seeking to implement both.
Contents:
1. EN16001 – Requirements with Guidance for Use – based on PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT 2. Comparison Main Requirements – comparison of EN16001 and CoC under the headings:
• General Requirements • Energy Policy
• Planning
6.4
Practical Options for Retrofitting Data Centres
The guide describes a selection of practical retrofit options in order to increase the energy efficiency of a data centre. The emphasis of the guide is on proven measures based on modern cooling techniques and the latest cooling infrastructure.
As well as the retrofit options outlined, based on the practical experience of the Data Centre SWG members, the report examines ways of improving the energy efficiency of IT infrastructure being managed within the centre.
Contents:
1. Air Management – managing air distribution through better containment and improved airflow
2. Cooling Infrastructure – optimising the cooling load through more efficient use of cooling infrastructure
3. IT Infrastructure – reducing the energy consumption of the IT infrastructure through optimisation of IT power management, consolidation, virtualisation, server refresh, and storage optimisation
4. Other Initiatives – pursuing initiatives in terms of metering, fire suppression, and lighting
6.5
Humidity in Data Centres
As data-centre cooling with outside air (‘free cooling’) has become more and more widespread, the quality of the outside air has become increasingly important. In the traditional data-centre cooling layout, the recirculated air is not influenced by the outside air conditions, since little fresh air is brought into the data centre.
This guide describes what is important to take into account when designing data centres with free cooling in mind. The main focus is on direct free cooling, concentrating especially on humidity concerns.
Contents:
1. Data Centre Climate – introduces the four climate-related issues to take into account in a data centre: temperature of the air, air particulates, gases and humidity
2. What is Humidity? – explains the terms and measurements used to describe air humidity 3. Climatic Recommendations – outlines the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and
Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommendations, and recommendations relating to Irish data centres
4. Free Cooling – describes indirect and direct free cooling
5. Irish Weather and Free Cooling – highlights the potential for free cooling in Ireland 6. Other Recommendations – addresses related issues such as water cooling, heat recovery,
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7
Opportunities for Further Investigation
The SWG has many opportunities for further investigation, falling into two categories: Guides and Demonstration Projects (Case Studies). These opportunities are outlined in more detail below.
7.1
Guides/Desktop Studies
Consolidation and Virtualisation
Though these terms are often used together, consolidation and virtualisation are separate initiatives in terms of energy efficiency. The proposed document will detail a practical approach to server consolidation and highlight the role of virtualisation in increasing energy efficiency.
7.2
Demonstration Projects
Free Air Cooling
The planned project will provide a demonstration of how free cooling regime is applied to an operational data centre. The free cooling may involve a combination of dry air coolers and CRAC units with retrofitted dry cooling coils. A case study will be documented at the end of the project.
Evaporative Air Cooling
The proposal is to use an existing water tower to pre-cool the return water to air-cooled chillers. The solution will involve a heat exchanger, controls, valves and a primary pump. The return water will pass through the secondary side of the heat exchanger and be cooled by water from the tower pumped into the primary side. An output of the project will be a case study.
Better Air Management
This demonstration project will employ practical air management techniques in a data centre, such as hot/cold aisle separation, optimal positioning of floor grilles and increased cold air supply temperature.
Metering
The proposal is to install a metering regime that will measure the various components of energy consumption in a data centre. The results of the metering will be input in a strategic plan for increasing the energy efficiency of the facility.
Lighting
Lighting is only a small part of the total energy consumption of a data centre. However this consumption can be reduced further by installing Passive Infra-Red (PIR) sensors that only activate lights when movement is detected, and by using more energy-efficient lights.
Server Rooms
A large server room is retrofitted to use free cooling. The server room is a new room build in an existing building and uses cold aisle separation.
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8
Special Invest
igation Opportunities
There are many opportunities for Special Investigations in a data centre context. The table below lists the investigations that could be carried out by data-centre management when examining the feasibility of implementing energy saving initiatives.
Special
Investigations Detail Considerations/Barriers
1.Air Management – Containment Feasibility of hot aisle/cold aisle containment
•Hot aisle is preferred for new builds
•Cold aisle may be more applicable for retrofits •Interaction with fire suppression systems
•Improving airflow through optimised positioning of floor
grilles, blaming plates, foam, etc. 2.Airside
Economisation – Fresh Air Cooling
Viability of Direct Free Air Cooling
•More hours available for airside economisation than with
wetside
•Is there room for Air Handling Units (AHUs)? •Can ducting be installed in the building? •Access to outside air
3.Wetside Economisation – Dry Cooler Feasibility of Indirect Free Cooling (a.k.a. Free Cooling)
•Less hours available for wetside economisation than with
airside
•Chilled water system or DX system
•Dry coolers have greater operating hours than wet coolers •Is there room for Air Handling Units (AHUs)?
4.Wetside Economisation – Wet Cooler Feasibility of Indirect Free Cooling (a.k.a. Free Cooling)
•Less hours available for wetside economisation than with
airside
•Chilled water system or DX system
•Wet coolers have greater operating hours than dry coolers •Is there an underused cooling tower already on site?
5.Metering
Measure where energy is being consumed
•Measure components of overall energy consumption, e.g.
IT load, cooling load, transmission, UPS, etc
•Ideally measure at rack and server level
6.Lighting
Energy efficiency of lighting regime
•Recent improvements in light and sensor technologies •Accounts for less than 1% of total energy consumption
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9
Summary
and Recommendations
The overall objectives of the Data Centre SWG are to:
• Facilitate networking within data-centre organisations in Ireland
• Assist participating companies in achieving best performance through focused Special
Investigations
• Understand best technology and practice
• Identify areas for improvement and improvement projects
• Recommend key Special Investigation opportunities in the data-centre sector • Disseminate best practice
• Provide information on the types of improvement projects undertaken by SWG participants,
in terms of the delivery and the outputs of the projects
The SWG participants represent three broad categories of data-centre services provider: data centre as internal infrastructure, data centre as core business, and data centre as ancillary business (see section 3 for more detail).
9.1
Special Investigations
Each of the five site assessments undertaken by the SWG examined the relevant participant’s current situation in terms of energy consumption as well as the overall use of cooling technology. Circumstances differed for each company – some had already undertaken energy efficiency initiatives, other had carried out some preliminary examinations but undertaken few actions, and others were only beginning to look at energy efficiency issues.
The investigations are of major benefit to the participating companies as they present a considered roadmap (and choice) of potential actions, pointing to the next steps to be taken by each participant. This is valuable as it enables these companies to commence the technical and financial planning necessary to drive energy efficiency improvements. This work quantifies savings opportunities in excess of 12 GWh per annum.
See chapter 6 for further detail on the site assessments.
9.2
Demonstration Projects
The downstream output of the site assessments is a set of demonstration projects based on energy improvement projects that are currently being planned by participating companies (see section 8.2 for more detail). These projects will be completed in late 2010 and early 2011 and will provide very topical case studies for the data-centre industry in Ireland.
9.3
Desktop Studies
A number of energy-related issues are of interest industry-wide. Guides have been produced on the following topics:
• Increasing energy efficiency in data centres, • Energy-Efficient Design in data centres • EN16001 certification for data centres • Practical options for retrofitting data centres • Relative humidity in data centres
There is SWG interest in the production of further guides in areas such as consolidation and virtualisation opportunities.
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9.4
Overall Progress
The first year of the Data Centre SWG can be characterised as a very good start. Site assessments gave rise to, and support, many projects that will deliver both significant energy savings and valuable case studies to the data-centre industry. A selection of helpful guides for the industry were produced. However, more remains to be done. The demonstration projects must be completed and documented and there is the potential to deliver further guides of value to the industry. It is expected that this will be completed during 2011.
9.5
Next Phase
The next phase of the SWG will concentrate on the following activities:
• Pursue the initiatives arising from the site assessments, in order to drive demonstration
projects and case studies
• Provide a forum for the application of new technologies
• Support participants’ effort in the area of retrofitting energy efficiency technologies in data
centres, and align with SEAI’s forthcoming Energy Efficiency Retrofit Fund (EERF) 2010
• Disseminate relevant standards and codes:
o Raising greater awareness and use of the EU Code of Conduct
o Increasing the implementation of EN16001 in data centres
• Examine identified issues of concern to participants and report on them:
o Retrofitting existing data centres
o Relative Humidity (RH)
• Investigate energy efficiency challenges specific to individual SWG participants, in the form
of Special Investigations
• Explore further the benefits of IT-related initiatives to reduce energy consumption:
o Consolidation
