Mark Bramfitt - Utilities & IT

Latest DoE PSA Showcases Desktop Power Management

I'm not a fan of any sort of outdoor advertising, but at least this bus stop piece in San Francisco promotes something I can get behind - desktop power management.

Convincing users to enable the embedded power saving features of their IT equipment continues to be a challenge, and I've been unable to posit a role for utility programs for individual users that would make sense, other than education and outreach which is of course what the Department of Energy is doing here.

I'm reminded of several great conversations I had with a start-up in the Bay Area five years or so ago. They had developed a web-based portal where users could enable power management features, with a reporting scheme that told them how much power and cost savings they achieved.

The start-up really wanted the utility to offer the service - which makes a lot of sense if the utility was willing to take on the marketing burden. That could be as simple as promoting the service on the utility website to more active efforts like bill inserts.

The problem I had selling the idea internally was an abject refusal to engage in anything that touches customer IT systems. The very small risk of claims that the power management service in some way affected a desktop was too great for a conservative utility to get their heads around.

(Although utilities pay incentives for the replacement of fluorescent lamps, with their toxic materials, as well as a host of HVAC changes that have potential associated risks, I ran up against risk aversion for other technologies as well.  Don't get me started on wet cleaning technology...)

I suppose a company could bid in to a utility as a third party energy efficiency service provider, getting paid for the energy savings they generate. That would work fine but the start-up I talked with really needed the leverage of a utility branded and marketed outreach effort, so that avenue lead us nowhere I'm afraid.

The only bright spot then is utility programs that reward the installation of desktop management software for business users, leaving the heavy lifting of extending into the residential/single user market to the DoE and EPA.

Intel vs. ARM from The Economist

I've posted before about the potential use of ARM-designed chips in servers as an energy efficiency play. This article from The Economist focuses on the potential market battle between Intel and the ARM cluster of companies, noting that energy efficiency is the basis of the competition.

In a nutshell, ARM chips dominate mobile electronics applications, which of course means that energy efficiency is a prime design attribute (to maximize battery life). Intel dominates in desktops, laptops, and data center gear, and their processors bring awesome computing capability to bear at increasing energy efficiencies. (Disclosure: Intel is one of my clients.)

It's been posited that ARM-like designs would be applicable to Intel's markets on the basis of energy efficiency - a server running ARM chip sets could use as little as a tenth of the power of an Intel-based model, according to HP (HP has a project to develop ARM-based servers called "Moonshot"). ARM chips might also be suitable for PCs - certainly in the laptop, tablet, and new "ultrabook" categories.

The article points out many of the barriers that would prevent one side from gaining traction in the other's turf: the PC market is stagnant (so why bother), Intel has developed the Atom processor which has efficiency on a par with comparable ARM products, ARM designs likely lack the performance needed for server workloads, and the whole issue of whether software companies and other industry players will support new platforms.

I'll raise just two issues.

First, it has always appeared to me that issue of server energy efficiency is mooted by the incredibly low average utilization rates in most applications. Even the best internet-focused companies with largely homogeneous workloads only report rates in the twenty percent range, and enterprise users are lucky to see rates over ten percent. So efficient power supplies or even comparative advantages in processor efficiency simply don't make the difference that improved utilization would. 

Second, the PC market is relatively stagnant, but there are tremendous opportunities to drive efficiency through refresh and power management. The latest generation of Intel processors are far more efficient than cores made just three years ago, and coupled with power management, desktops use just a little more energy than a late generation laptop.

Which is why I counsel utilities to promote server virtualization and consolidation and desktop power management as their primary programs in these markets. Yes, there are discussions at some utilities about designing programs that reward the purchase of premium efficiency desktops and servers, but that will drive marginal energy savings compared to these two measures.

As to the ARM/Intel foray - battling over energy efficiency is a great thing!

 

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. 

 

 

Teaching At: SMUD Information Tech Energy Efficiency Course

Wanted to provide plenty of time to enroll...

Mark Hydeman of Taylor Engineering, Ray Pfiefer of Synapsense, and myself will be at SMUD's headquarters building in Sacramento on Tuesday, March 30 from 9 am to 4:30 pm delivering a course on energy efficiency opportunities in data centers and for information technology infrastructure.

This is the same program we're delivering for Pacific Gas and Electric Company in San Francisco on March 18th, but SMUD also incorporates a vendor fair and provides complimentary lunch...

This has been a fully subscribed event in recent years, so worth getting your registration done now.

NComputing & Microsoft Teaming for Desktop Thin Client

NComputing, the leader in what I've always called desktop thin client (they prefer desktop virtualization, which I consider a somewhat broader category), has announced a partnership with Microsoft that may enhance their ability to penetrate key markets including the education sector.

The NComputing system allows multiple users to share one desktop, keying off of the generally under-used capabilities of todays machines. Their sweet spot to date has been school computer labs, but their gear could also be used in small businesses.

From a utility energy efficiency program perspective, the technology presents a bit of challenge. An NComputing system is clearly cheaper than buying desktops for each user, so new construction/new installation incentives are not doable. 

Teaching At: PG&E Data Center Retrofit Course

A quick note that I am supporting Mark Hydeman of Taylor Engineering at Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Data Center Retrofits: How to Improve Efficiency and Increase Capacity course on March 18th at the Pacific Energy Center in San Francisco.

I love to work with Mark on these classes as he is outstanding at describing air conditioning and controls, while I focus on IT equipment efficiency.  I also try to provide some utility and market perspective, and as always do my best to inspire attendees to go back to their organizations and make something happen.

If you have never attended this course (PG&E generally offers it twice a year), I highly recommend it as it is a great investment. Espicially given that PG&E does not charge for the class! 

Vendor Profile: Verdiem

Heard a CEO-level review of Verdiem's status in the marketplace for PC Power Management software from Jeremy Jaech at the PacificCrest Emerging Technology meeting in San Francisco on Wednesday. 

Here are important insights for utility program managers:

• Jeremy noted that their sales focus has shifted towards large customers (like Cadbury and several divisions of the State of California) rather than mid- and small-scale engagements. In fact, he noted that customers with fleets of 1000 desktops or more are their sweet spot.

• The Surveyor product is one of the few "pure plays" in the PC power management space - most other vendors are offering an add-on to software packages that accomplish other desktop fleet management tasks like software patches and updates.

• In keeping with that distinction, Surveyor does have the key feature that utilities often make a requirement for rebate eligibility: the ability to measure, confirm, and report actual energy savings. Many of the "add on" products don't have that capability.

PC Power Management Software WP Now Posted

The first of a portfolio of utility energy efficiency program element white papers is now posted to the site, covering PC Power Management Software.

Each white paper will provide a description of the energy efficiency measure, how to incorporate it into typical utility program models, some idea of market potential, a list of vendors, and a listing of utilities who are offering programs that cover the measure.

PC Network Power Management Software is one of the few ideal candidates for a utility prescriptive rebate program - customers buy and install the software and file for a flat rebate payment afterwards.

The measure can be added to an existing business rebate menu, and will drive good energy and demand savings on a cost-effective basis.

Watch for announcements of additions to this series of white papers. (I will have a series of "premium" white papers that will be available for consulting clients and by subscription.)

Presentation Report: GSMI "The Green Data Center Conference"

Flew down to San Diego yesterday to speak about the opportunities for partnering engagements between utilities and their data center and IT customers on energy efficiency, demand response, load shifting, and siting guidance.

Good crowd of primarily operators, though I must say that all of the speakers had a difficult time getting any crowd response going. For myself, I thought I did pretty well for my first speaking engagement as a consultant, and only caught myself referring to PG&E as "we" a couple of times!

For those of you who attended and are looking for a copy of the presentation deck, here it is: Download GSMI 2 4 10

Desktop Thin Client - More Questions

Wisconsin Focus On Energy is the only utility energy efficiency program offering rebates for conversion of desktop systems to thin client that I'm aware of - and it should be noted that the program is a limited pilot.

I'm ultimately very hopeful that utilities will be able to promote this technology as a deemed rebate offering, paying a set rebate for each desktop converted. However, let's take a moment to look at the challenges in developing a program of that type.

As with any measure, utilities need to know how much energy is being saved through improved efficiency of one system compared to another. This is pretty complicated for thin client.  

The "before" case is a fleet of desktop computers that have a pretty variable use pattern. For a given business type (institutional, corporate, call center, etc.), how many of 100 computers are on, and for how long on average over a long period?  Next, how much do the machines use while active, and in sleep mode? What about differences dependent on the age and configuration of the machines?