Data Center RD&D at EPRI Mukesh Khattar Technical Executive Critical facilities Round Table Meeting Palo Alto, CA 16 October 2015
EPRI Focus for Data Centers RD&D Address problems facing the member electric utilities, its customers and society Asses data center end use trends and its impact on energy and demand requirements Asses emerging technologies and solutions Evaluate new technologies and solutions Use science and technology to develop new solutions and strategies Conduct laboratory tests Conduct pilot tests in the field Conduct demonstrations Develop methodologies and tools that utilities can use for its efficiency programs 2
Global CO 2 Emissions from Information and Telecommunications Technology Systems ICT 3% 97% 3
Growing Energy Use in Data Centers in the U.S. >6% Annual Growth 140*B Billions of Kilowatt Hours 60B 91B 2006 2013 2020 (E) 4
Global Increases in Data Center Power Consumption 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 2012-2013 Average Source: DCD Intelligence 2013 Census Report: Global Data Center Power 2013 5
Government and Regulatory Requirements Carbon Reduction Mandates California ~25-30% reduction by 2020 to reach 1990 levels, 33% renewable energy by 2020 European Union mandates greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction by 40% below the 1990 level. EU-wide binding target for renewable energy of at least 27% Net Zero Energy Building Mandates & Incentives California: "Zero Net Energy" (ZNE) goals for new homes by 2020 and commercial buildings by 2030 France: Le Grenelle de l'environnement- Buildings must be net zero, to positive energy by 2020 European Union: all buildings, including large houses, constructed after 2020 coming close to "nearly zero" energy use. Demand Response- financial incentive Load abatement in response to signals Higher incentives for faster load-shed and for automated load control 6
Energy Use Reduction Initiatives Whitehouse Executive Order 13693 Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade, June 2015 Install meters for measuring PUE by 2018 Reduce PUE below 1.5 in all existing data centers PUE of 1.2-1.4 for new data centers EPA Data center Challenge Launched fall of 2014 Voluntary Recognition Requires commitment to reduce support power By 20% over 10 years for a portfolio of data centers Or, by 25% over 5 years for a single data center 7
Energizing Data Center Significant power needs Typical designs 2-5 kw/rack (~100-200 W/ft 2 ) Rack power density is increasing Continuity/Reliability is paramount High cost of downtime $7,900 / minute (Emerson & Ponemon, 2013) PUE = Total energy use/it energy use PUE = 1.0/0.52 =1.92 Data Center Energy Use PUE =1/0.52. =1.92 Source: LBNL 2007 Breakdown of Support Power Components Contributing to PUE PUE c PUE c = (cooling energy use/it energy use) + (Elec. Losses/IT Energy use) + (other/it Energy Use) = (0.35/0.52) + (0.09/0.52) + (0.04/0.52) PUE c = 0.67 + 0.17 + 0.08 = 0.92 8
Where is energy used in data centers? Components of PUE 9
VFDs on DX CRACS? Concern about condensation freezing on condenser coils EPRI demonstrated VFDs under a CEC sponsored project Two field sites: EPRI and NetApp VFDs installed on fixed-airflow designs Air-cooled and water-cooled DX units Face-split and row-split cooling coil designs Simple retrofit: install VFD in power supply to fans Fans run under automatic VFD controls Tested down to 60% with no operational issues EPRI Report available at no cost to all (Product: 3002005339) Most vendors now offer VFD retrofits 10
IT Load & DX CRAC Energy Use At Various Fan Speeds 11
19.4% 26.6% 30.9% Cooling Energy Savings Versus Indoor Fan Speed 12
Technologies assessment/evaluation Direct air economizers Indirect air economizers Indirect evaporative economizers Indirect water economizers Indirect pumped refrigerant economizers InRow and close-coupled units Optimal controls strategies development Low cost dashboards and benchmarks Low cost monitoring and evaluation Audit methodologies Energy calculations Power conditioning/distribution technologies and solutions Miscellaneous 13
Some Field Observations-Random Sample RA conditions observed at the CRAC units display at some random sites Cooling and humidifying simultaneously! It must be winter. Newer networked controls could eliminate these issues 19% RH! Site must be located in cold climate and no humidification provided 14
Caution with Newer DX Units With Variable Cooling Capacity If you see significant lower compressor hours than fan hours, compressor short cycling (wide variation in SA temp), or compressor running at much lower speed than fan speed, your unit has over sized. Reset factory default minimum fan speed (typically from 75% to minimum acceptable, e.g., 37%) You will achieve less fan power, more uniform SA temperature, higher RA temp, more efficient cooling and lower PUE! 15
IT equipment power management Average IT equipment use is quite low Server Average Power (W) Min. Power (W) Max. Power (W) Average Exhaust Temp ( F) 1 73 64 110 95 2 77 76 100 99 3 46 45 58 104 4 57 56 63 103 5 46 45 56 100 Test/evaluate sleep modes Test/evaluate power capping mode Test/evaluate virtual machines consolidation and turning off idle physical machines during low demand Demand response 16
Average Power (W) Time to Comnplete (s) Impact of Power Cap on LINPACK Benchmark 140 Power v. Workload 10000 Time v. Workload 120 1000 100 80 60 40 100 10 1 Baseline Cap-132 Cap-112 20 0 0 10000 20000 30000 40000 Workload (# of Problems) 0.1 0.01 Cap-92 Cap-72 0 10000 20000 30000 40000 Workload (# of Problems) 17
IDEA Lab Innovations in Datacenter Efficiency Advances Testing in a live data center without the constraints of live users Testbed for efficient technology Represents typical (small) server room HVAC, power delivery, IT Ongoing efforts: Server DR by workload mgmt. Liquid cooling Heat recovery by VRF cooling 18
IT Energy Use: Potential Savings Cisco estimates 30% savings across IT equipment through energy management Cisco Perspective Offering @ ~$xx/mw annually for data centers Estimated ROI claims of 3-6 months Need IT departments collaboration 19
Generator Block Heaters Overlooked Energy Savings Opportunity Diesel engines must be kept warm for rapid startup ( 10s) Help improve stability in ambient temp 70 F Most gen-sets equipped with resistive heater Coolant circulated passively by thermosiphon May use more energy than the backup generator will ever supply Generator Rating (kw) Block Heater (kw) 300 3 600 4 1,000 6 1,500 8 2,000 12 Typical 1 MW generator (6 kw heaters) uses up to 52,500 kwh annually Two solutions: Coolant circulation pump Heat pump coolant heater (SCE study found 75% savings over resistive heater in L.A.) 20
How Can One Participate? Technology Demonstration Projects CEC Grant Funding Opportunity open now Applied Research and Development Emerging Technology Pilots Technology Demonstration and Deployment Participate as Host Site for Demonstration for CEC projects VFDs on DX CRACs Replacing sq. cage fan/motor assembly with plug fan/ecm assembly Innovative part load controls Emerging New Technologies IT load management and power savings Demand response 21
Together Shaping the Future of Electricity 22