data centre swg project report

7/27/2019 Data Centre SWG Project Report

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/data-centre-swg-project-report 1/18

Data CentresSpecial Working Group Project Report Spin I



Table of Contents

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................................. 1!Phased Approach ............................................................................................................................................................... 1!Outputs .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1!

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!Better Air Management ........................................................................................................................................... 12!Metering ........................................................................................................................................................................ 12!Lighting ......................................................................................................................................................................... 12!



Server Rooms............................................................................................................................................................... 12!8! Special Investigation Opportunities....................................................................................................................... 13!9! Summary and Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 14!

9.1! Special Investigations ......................................................................................................................................... 14!9.2! Demonstration Projects .................................................................................................................................... 14!9.3! Desktop Studies ................................................................................................................................................... 14!9.4! Overall Progress ................................................................................................................................................... 15!9.5! Next Phase .............................................................................................................................................................. 15!



Data Centres SWG

Project Report, Spin 1

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 Centres3. EN16001 Certification for Data Centres



Data Centres SWG


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 IndustryEnergy 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/IEC JTC 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 hasparticipants 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

1 www.thegreengrid.org

2 re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/energyefficiency/html/standby_initiative_data_centers.htm

3 www.jtc1eedc.org



Data Centres SWG


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.



Data Centres SWG


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-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

ConsultingConsultancy Padraig Coakley

SWG Project

Coordinator

Bank of IrelandInternal

Infrastructure

Bernard Higgins, David

McCormack

Participating

Company

BT Ancillary Business Finbarr O’SullivanParticipating

Company

Eircom Ancillary Business Owen Wynne, Paul NolanParticipating

Company

EMCInternal

InfrastructureKevin Barry, Luke Bardsley

Participating

Company

IBM Ancillary Business Jimmy McDonoughParticipating

Company

Intel CorporationInternal

Infrastructure

Keith Ellis, Aengus Nolan, John

Weir

Participating

Company

Interxion Core Business Karl MulhallParticipating

Company

VodafoneAncillary 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

3. Viegand & Maagøe



Data Centres SWG


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.



Data Centres SWG


6

4 Data Centre SWGWorkshops

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 Code of 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.



Data Centres SWG


7

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 confines the 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 energyconsumption.

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



Data Centres SWG


8

5 Special Investigations

Site assessments and special investigations were carried out for five of the SWG participants. Therewere 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 theimportance 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.



Data Centres SWG


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

reduce lighting energy consumption.



Data Centres SWG


10

6 Guides/Desktop Studies

The SWG commissioned five desktop studies to provide practical guidelines to the data-centreindustry 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 fromimplementing 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 thefundamentals 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



Data Centres SWG


11

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 efficiencyof 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 throughoptimisation 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 humidityconcerns.

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,

and operations and maintenance



Data Centres SWG


12

7 Opportunities for Further Investigation

The SWG has many opportunities for further investigation, falling into two categories: Guides andDemonstration 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.



Data Centres SWG


13

8 Special Investigation Opportunities

There are many opportunities for Special Investigations in a data centre context. The table below liststhe investigations that could be carried out by data-centre management when examining the

feasibility of implementing energy saving initiatives.

Special

InvestigationsDetail 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 FreeCooling (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



Data Centres SWG


14

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.



Data Centres SWG


15

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

o Virtualisation

data centre swg project report

Documents