Mark Bramfitt - Utilities & IT

AESP Paper and Slide Deck: Desktop Computing EE Opportunities

Thanks to those of you who attended the panel session at the Association of Energy Service Professionals Forum in San Diego where I delivered a presentation regarding desktop computing energy efficiency opportunities. (I appreciated the feedback too!)

The presentation covered what Alan Rose from Intel and I describe in a paper - what the energy efficiency opportunities are, and how utility programs should be designed to drive market adoption of the technologies and measures.

I know you'll be able to get the paper and (eventually) the presentation deck from AESP, but I'll post them here as well:

Opportunities for Desktop Computer Energy Efficiency Programs 

Mark Bramfitt, P.E., Bramfitt Consulting, San Francisco, CA and Alan Rose, Intel Corporation, Portland, OR

Download Bramfitt AESP Paper 12 12 11

Presentation Deck:

Download AESP Pres Deck Bramfitt Rose

Speaking At: AESP's 22nd National Conference in San Diego

I'll be delivering a paper presentation on Wednesday February 8th in San Diego at the Association of Energy Service Professionals 22nd National Conference, which runs Monday through Thursday.

We'll post the paper, which I wrote with Alan Rose at Intel, after the event. The title is Opportunities for Desktop Computer Energy Efficiency Programs, and here is the abstract:

There are proven technologies that dramatically improve the energy efficiency of desktop computing infrastructure, but poor market adoption calls for the engagement of utilities and their service providers to employ program approaches to stimulate the three large user markets of large businesses and institutions, small and medium businesses, and consumers. Although there are challenges in delivering programs that will deliver cost-effective, defensible results, the opportunities for dramatic energy efficiency accomplishments are too large to ignore. This paper makes recommendations for program approaches that leverage vendor support, meet regulatory requirements, and that benefit consumers. 

 

 

Moderating: Panel at Technology Convergence Conference

I'll be moderating a panel again this year at the Teladata Technology Convergence Conference on Thursday February 2nd at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

Our topic this year is Server Rooms and Closets: The New Frontier for Energy Efficiency Engagements, and I'll be joined by two close colleagues, Mary Medieros McEnroe from Silicon Valley Power and Bill Dunckel from Pacific Gas and Electric, and a new acquaintance, Dr. Munther Salim, who works on energy efficiency and sustainability at HP.

If you haven't attended the Teladata events in the past, I highly recommend going given the focus on sustainability and energy efficiency, as well as the caliber of the presentations.

 

ESource Forum Presentation Deck

I had the pleasure of attending the ESource Forum in Denver this week, sharing a presentation slot with Geoff Overland of the Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation to talk about how to prepare and launch utility energy efficiency programs for the data center and information technology market.

We got good feedback from several of the participants, and I like to think that we inspired some utilities to at least get in the shallow end of the pool.  We heard from a few utility program managers that they'd  like to start holding customer education and training sessions, which I advocate as a key component of a phase one program roll out.

ESource will be posting the presentations within the next few weeks, but here's my slide deck: Download ESource 9 21 11. I'd call your attention to the last two slides before the close, which summarize a two-phased approach to a program launch.

Thanks to the ESource team for having me on the agenda - I enjoyed being in Denver for the first time.

Samsung/Dell: Dell Wows with Higher Inlet Temperature Certification

Perhaps the most earth-shaking news at the Samsung/Dell CIO Forum was the announcement by Dell that they were certifying their data center IT equipment to much higher inlet air temperatures - sending the signal to data center operators that the equipment is warrantied at much hotter environmental conditions.

In the data center energy efficiency programs that I have delivered over the past three years or so, we have always used Dell's specification sheets to show attendees that manufacturers warranty their equipment at temperatures well above the ASHRAE guidelines.

We cite a specification for a Dell Powervault MD3000, which lists suitable inlet temperatures of 10 to 35 degrees Celsius (50 to 95 degrees F).

Now Dell has announced that their servers will be warrantied in environments that reach 45 degrees C inlet for no more than 90 hours a year, and that their networking and storage gear can have 40 degree C inlet air for as many as 900 hours a year.

This is big news, because it removes any possible obection to using nothing but outside air to cool a data center in any climate zone in the United States, and I suspect the specifications were set expressly for that reason.

Why? Dell showed that they are building modular data centers to support Microsoft's Bing search service that in an installation in Colorado went from bare ground to operational in four months. Dell claims a PUE of 1.03 for the 1 MW deployment, which can only be achievable using 100% outside air cooling. Dell also uses servers without onboard fans to get this amazingly low PUE rating.

Samsung/Dell CIO Forum in Half Moon Bay

Belated in blogging about a great forum hosted by Samsung and Dell in Half Moon Bay three weeks ago. Lots of great information from IT companies, data center operators, and industry associations, and I plan to break the news up into several posts on that basis.

First though, the presentations can be found here, and I recommend scrolling through the ones that interest you.  Thanks of course to Samsung and the presenters for making the material available.

Next, thought I'd mention that the forum was certainly at a swanky venue: the Ritz Carlton. The hotel has mandatory valet parking, and as I pulled in in my new Hyundai, which I had just backed into a pole, what pulled up behind me?

Not one, not two, but six brand new Bugatti Veyrons! Evidently the convoy was headed down the coast to the Monterey Historics on the weekend.  Over $12 million in iron.  The valets were pretty mindful as they parked them in the front of the hotel.

And no, there wasn't a mixup when I retrieved my car at the end of the day: I got my Hyundai back!

Speaking At: Flash Memory Summit 2011 in Santa Clara 9/10

I'll be speaking at the Green Flash session on the afternoon of Wednesday August 10th at the Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, along with colleagues from the EPA Energy Star Program, Nimbus Data Systems, and NTI.

Here's my abstract:Download Flash Memory Summit Abstract 2011.  it's a short speaking slot (and in the dreaded end-of day time slot!), so I intend to get right to the point by challenging the data storage industry at large and the solid state technology sector in particular to "get in the game" with regard to data center and IT energy efficiency.

As a teaser, I intend to describe the three compelling advantages for flash memory use in on-board storage: the obvious energy efficiency advantage compared to disk drives, the high i/o rates that could facilitate much higher server utilization, and a third one which I only recently recognized...  It may in fact be industry-changing.

Will post the presentation and the answer to my riddle after the appearance!

Container Paper and DCD Presentation Deck

I delivered a presentation regarding the findings of the GSA-sponsored and LBNL-produced paper on container data centers yesterday at the Data Center Dynamics conference in San Francisco.

As promised, here is the presentation deck:  Download DCD Bramfitt 6 30 11

(I understand that DCD will be posting copies of all of the presentations at the conference, along with recordings of the sessions, so if you're looking for scintillating repartee...)

Also, you can retrieve the paper at LBNL's site, which has lots of great stuff, including the reports on particulates and corrosion potential in data centers that use outside air cooling systems. If you're in a hurry, here's a copy:  Download Modular_Data_Center_Procurement_Guide-final

Speaking At: Data Center Dynamics San Francisco June 30th

Look for me at the Data Center Dynamics conference at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis (the "Jukebox Marriott" to us locals) on Thursday June 30th.

I'll be speaking during the 9:55/10:40 time slot, relating the results of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory container and modular data center guide that I co-authored with Henry Coles.

If you'd like to chat about the report or anything else, catch me at the event.  As always, it's the action in the hallways that counts!

Demand Response in DCs Discussed at Connectivity Week

I was asked by David Shroyer at NetApp to moderate a panel on demand response opportunities in data centers at the Connectivity Week conference in Silicon Valley Monday.

We had a great group of panelists, but unfortunately attendees outnumbered us by only a very small margin.

Mary Ann Piette from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory brought the academic perspective, along with the results of an initial opportunity study and the promise of future research into actual demand response participation in data centers.

KC Mares of Megawatt Consulting represented the utility scale data center operator perspective, drawing on his long history of working in this field.

We were also joined by my former colleague Albert Chiu, who works in Pacific Gas and Electric Company's demand response group.

Because we only had a dozen people in the room, the discussion was lively and interactive. I noted a dichotomy of thought: it was postulated that data center operators would participate in demand response programs if they saw a more active, real-time pricing signal from utilities, but at the same time they desire some assurance that their participation would pay off in a predictable fashion so that they could justify implementation costs.

David further muddied the waters by describing how NetApp purchases power on the open market (made possible by a recent easing of direct access rules in California). As expected, NetApp is interested in low cost power, but also price assurance, so they seek long term contracts and have a hedging strategy. In simple terms, they are trying to reduce price sensitivity.

Not to throw cold water on the prospect of data center participation in DR, but a pure market pricing system runs contrary to the desire for pricing predictability. This means that participating in DR may be lucrative one year, and worthless the next, depending on market conditions. That precludes making investments in enabling technology because the business case is unpredictable.

Further, with their very high load factors, data centers are sitting pretty when it comes to real time electricity pricing. Any hit from peak conditions is more than ameliorated by extensive off peak energy use. Other end use customers are more likely to see an overall increase in costs, and will find DR participation more urgent.

We did come to the conclusion that some utility scale data center operators, especially those competing in the cloud service space, are likely to be the early adopters of any demand-side management opportunity, including DR, load shifting, and self-generation.