Mark Bramfitt - Utilities & IT

EPA Utility Data Center EE Program Guide

I'm surprised I haven't posted on this before, but I was proud to be a part of a team that has developed a Utility Data Center Energy Efficiency Program Guide that has been published by the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Program.

The guide truly distills the best practices for utilities that want to promote energy efficiency for their data center customers, delivering cost-effective results. The report doesn't paper over the challenges in this market (getting trade allies on board, addressing split incentives, free-ridership risks, etc.), and does suggest numerous ways to overcome these market barriers. I like to point out that running a program for this market is no more difficult than those addressing industrial market sectors, and often just as effective.

I have also been participating in monthly webinars for utilities that want to get a taste of what the report covers, and we've had great response rates (almost one hundred participants for the first on last year, and thirty on the call this morning). 

As soon as I can find the EPA's site for signing up for the webinars, I'll post it here.

Container/Modular Data Center Paper Published!

Very pleased indeed to announce that the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has released the final version of a paper devoted to assessing the energy efficiency and deployment considerations of container/modular data center units.

I co-wrote the paper with Henry Coles of LBNL, and I am indebted to him for the heavy lifting of the technical analysis comparing selected units, rating them for energy efficiency.

The crux of the paper is that the latest generation of modular units, featuring on-board air-side economizers supplemented with direct evaporative cooling systems, offer superior energy efficiency performance and should also be easier and less costly to deploy. Companies like Lee Technologies, HP, and SGI are offering second-generation units.

We've had great support from the vendor community both in providing information for the report, and in supporting our analysis and conclusions.

I hope that the report is of interest and use broadly in the industry - and a big thank you to the US General Services Administration for commissioning it. 

 

Container/Modular DC Guidebook Under Dev - Call for Comment

Under the auspices of the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the federal General Services Agency, I am drafting a guidebook that charts a process of choosing from available container-based and modular data center technologies, with a focus on energy efficiency and the provision of supporting infrastructure.

While it would be impossible to stay current with every development in this area, we are interested in providing a clear snapshot of the industry today, with the primary goal of describing a specification and deployment planning process that will be relevant in the future.

If you are a provider of modular or container-based systems, we'll likely be contacting you soon to find out about your product offerings. We also expect to offer a case study based on a container deployment at the University of California at San Diego, and would like to add additional case studies - so if you have deployed this technology and are willing to share your experiences, please contact me.

Lastly, I heartily recommend the data center resources posted at the LBNL web site, and if you are in the industry and need some high-quality, independent research on energy efficiency in data centers and IT, there is no better place to start than with the professionals at LBNL.

Uptime Symposium Presentation

I enjoyed attending the Uptime Symposium last week in New York City, and will post some thoughts and reactions throughout this week.

In the meantime, I had lots of requests for copies of my presentation deck "The Carbon Content of Power: A Primer for Data Center Managers":

Download Uptime 5 17 10

While the content did draw some good discussion, and I did get positive feedback, I must apologize for delivery that was not up to my standards. 

In any event, the key messages are that the information sources for carbon content of utility-delivered power are very rudimentary - you should be sure to drill down to the level of your specific utility provider to get a good conversion factor.

Further, because data centers have essentially a unity load factor, managers are likely to overstate the carbon footprint of their facilities because the carbon content of electricity can be heavily time dependent.

If you are a consulting client of mine and would like to learn more, contact me for a copy of my latest white paper on this subject.

New White Paper: Modular/Container Data Centers

I've completed another white paper that discusses the impact that modular/container data centers are likely to have on the market, describing available products and recent deployments. 

The paper discusses the implications for utilities with regard to provision of electric service capability and application of energy efficiency incentive programs to modular deployments.

Data center developers and operators, the companies that offer modular data center products, and utility energy efficiency program managers may find the paper of interest. It is available to existing consultancy clients and on a one-time subscription basis.

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.)

White Paper: Power Carbon Content

Working hard on a white paper that describes how best to go about evaluating the carbon content of the power delivered to you by your utility.

It's not as easy as it sounds, though there are a couple of places you can go to get a reasonable picture.  I'll point out the limitations of California's mandated Power Content Label, why the federal government information resources are only good as far as they go, and why data centers in particular may overreport their carbon emissions if they use the average carbon content figures from their utility.

And if this wasn't difficult enough, I'm going to take a stab at a methodology for accurately predicting power rates - again, the average rate figures provided by utilities are poor predictors of costs for high load factor customers like data centers. No promises on when this one will be done, as I expect the case study comparing California utility rates will require a pretty detailed spread sheet analysis.