Recovery Act: Federspiel Controls (now Vigilent) and State of California Department of General Services Data Center Energy Efficient Cooling Control Demonstration. Final technical project report
Eight State of California data centers were equipped with an intelligent energy management system to evaluate the effectiveness, energy savings, dollar savings and benefits that arise when powerful artificial intelligence-based technology measures, monitors and actively controls cooling operations. Control software, wireless sensors and mesh networks were used at all sites. Most sites used variable frequency drives as well. The system dynamically adjusts temperature and airflow on the fly by analyzing real-time demands, thermal behavior and historical data collected on site. Taking into account the chaotic interrelationships of hundreds to thousands of variables in a data center, the system optimizes the temperature distribution across a facility while also intelligently balancing loads, outputs, and airflow. The overall project will provide a reduction in energy consumption of more than 2.3 million kWh each year, which translates to $240,000 saved and a reduction of 1.58 million pounds of carbon emissions. Across all sites, the cooling energy consumption was reduced by 41%. The average reduction in energy savings across all the sites that use VFDs is higher at 58%. Before this case study, all eight data centers ran the cooling fans at 100% capacity all of the time. Because of the new technology, cooling fans run at the optimum fan speed maintaining stable air equilibrium while also expending the least amount of electricity. With lower fan speeds, the life of the capital investment made on cooling equipment improves, and the cooling capacity of the data center increases. This case study depicts a rare technological feat: The same process and technology worked cost effectively in eight very different environments. The results show that savings were achieved in centers with diverse specifications for the sizes, ages and types of cooling equipment. The percentage of cooling energy reduction ranged from 19% to 78% while keeping temperatures substantially within the limits recommended by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) for data center facilities.
- Research Organization:
- Federspiel Controls, Inc.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- EE0002900
- OSTI ID:
- 1025751
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
AIR CONDITIONING
BLOWERS
CAPACITY
CAPITAL
CARBON
DOLLARS
ELECTRICITY
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
ENGINEERS
HEATING
MONITORS
REFRIGERATION
SENSORS
SPECIFICATIONS
TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION
Vigilent
Federspiel Controls
Clifford Federspiel
intelligent energy management systems
data center cooling
data center
energy efficiency
computer room air conditioner
CRAC
CRAH
computer room air handler
energy management
controls
HVAC
wireless
PUE
DCIE
greenhouse gas emissions
California Energy Commission
U.S. Department of Energy
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act