Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Presented toTechnologies and Practices for Efficient & Reliable Data Centers

Inside the Data Center: Opportunities for Energy Efficiency

Mark BramfittSunnyvale, CaliforniaDecember 11, 2006

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Why Look In The White Room?

It’s where the energy use is located!

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Energy Multiplier Effect

Saving energy in the data center space can result in equivalent savings at the cooling plant level.

Depending on the type of cooling system, a kWh of heat load in the center drives an additional 0.75 to 1.25 kWh of cooling system energy use.

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Spectrum of Energy Efficiency Measures

Computing EquipmentServersData Storage

Power Distribution and ConditioningUPSDirect Current

Inside The Room CoolingCRAC’sAirflow Management and Control Direct Liquid CoolingEquipment Cabinets

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Computing Equipment

Premium-efficiency equipmentServersData storage devicesOthers

On-board power supplies80+

Virtualization/ConsolidationServersData storage

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Premium Efficiency Equipment

It is very challenging for:

Customers to select equipment

PG&E to develop incentive program

Why?

Equipment makers list performance metrics (zero to 60, max speed) but not energy performance (mpg)

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Who Has Premium Equipment?

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What To Do?

The industry is hashing out standard performance tests and reporting, through SPEC committee.

PG&E has, can, and will pay incentives for rip&replace/refresh projects, based on a calculation model.

PG&E will look to debut a deemed-savings program in 2007.

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Computing Equipment – Power Supplies

PG&E has provided funding for a project to extend the 80+ power supply program into the data center computing equipment market.

Program will pay equipment manufacturers directly to specify high performance power supplies in their equipment.

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Virtualization!

Wow!

In layman’s terms – a primarily software-based technology that allows for much higher equipment utilization rates, leading to…

…equipment consolidation…

…and even “energy management” of remaining equipment.

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Virtualization

Typically involves a survey of equipment and utilization rates using a software tool

Recommends strategies for migrating platforms/applications/workloads to “virtual machines” hosted on consolidated computing equipment

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Virtualization - Incentives

Complete an ‟audit” of the following:

existing equipment

prediction of remaining equipment

Calculate energy savings based on de-rated nameplate data

PG&E provides a calculation spreadsheet for vendors and customers

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Virtualization Calculator

Predicts energy savings from equipment consolidation

Can work for servers and/or data storage consolidation

Predicts savings from reduced cooling load

Predicts impacts to UPS

Available from HTEE Team

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Power Distribution & Conditioning

Premium-efficiency UPS

Direct current power distribution

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Premium-Efficiency UPS

Consider moving from:Standard-efficiency double-conversion to premium-efficiency or Delta conversion (APC) or Rotary

Consider:

Systems with modular configuration to match loads

Be cognizant of:

Loading and efficiency curves

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Direct Current Distribution

Eliminate stages of DC/AC/DC power conversion by delivering direct current from the UPS directly to the racks

Demonstrated by LBNL and industry partners

Potential savings of 10% to 20% of overall power conversion/delivery losses

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Cooling – Inside the Data Center

CRAC’s

Efficiency, VFD fans

Controls

End-of-row, integrated

Airflow Management and Control

Adaptive cooling control

Cabinets and directed airflow

Retro-commissioning measures

Liquid Cooling

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CRAC’s

Specify new or replacement CRAC’s with SEER ratings higher than equivalent Title 24 standards.

Specify new or retrofit existing CRAC’s with VSD fans to allow for better airflow management.

Some manufacturers promoting CRAC’s with closer proximity to racks.

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Airflow Management

Several companies is offering new adaptive airflow control systems. Generally taking temperature readings at the equipment level and applying an algorithm to control CRAC’s

PG&E/QuEST DCCCP

HP’s Dynamic Smart Cooling

IBM’s CoolBlue

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Airflow Management - Physical

Consider a variety of technologies to manage airflow:

Ducted cabinets, with or without integral fans and/or cooling coils

End-of-row air containment

Direct ducting of airstreams

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Airflow Management - RCx

Variety of low- and no-cost measures:

Reorienting equipment to hot aisle/ cold aisle configuration

Fixing holes in raised floor

Under floor cable management

Floor grate tile relocation

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Airflow Management - Incentives

Key challenge:

Accurately calculate predicted energy savings from any single measure or package of measures

Solution:

Pre- and post-measurement of direct energy savings

The Real Solution:

Adaptive airflow control systems to the rescue

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Technical Support

Dependent on your commitment, PG&E can provide technical assistance to evaluate the energy impacts of measures you are considering of implementing.

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Financial Incentives

Key points:You must file an application and get approval before you start your project.Application and supporting calculation needed.Before and after metering is an alternative route.PG&E reserves the right to inspect before and after conditions.New construction

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Financial Incentives - Limits

Generally 8 cents per kWh of annual energy savings for computing equipment savings, up to 14 cents per kWh for cooling system upgrades.

Limited to no more than half of project cost.

$4MM annual per site (meter) cap!

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On the Horizon

Deemed savings approach for premium efficiency computing equipment, based on industry standardsVariety of liquid cooling strategies: cabinet level and component levelThin-client systems for distributed computingDemand response strategies using IT scheduling softwareSelf generation directly feeding DC side of UPS!

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PG&E Support

Technical assistance to scope out energy impacts of projects you are considering

Support for completing financial incentive applications

How to access? Contact your:

PG&E Account Representative

PG&E High Tech Energy Efficiency Team

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Closing

PG&E has significantly expanded the scope of product and service offerings for data centers, particularly in the realm of inside-the-data-center energy efficiency measures.

On the basis of market interest, we have reserved program funding of ~$25M for 2006-2008 for this segment.

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Stay Up-To-Date

The “skeleton” of our new website is completed.

We’re adding content every week.

Check out our new website:

www.pge.com/hightech

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Inside the Data Center

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