Demonstration of Data Center Wireless Sensing and Control at the California Franchise Tax Board
Geoffrey Bell, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Data center cooling best practices were implemented in this project, along with evaluation and testing of control software and wireless sensors designed for closed-loop monitoring and control of information technology (IT) equipment's inlet air temperatures. Using best practices for each, the controls software and hardware were installed sequentially and evaluated using a measurement and verification procedure for each measure. This presentation will discuss the results, which show that the overall project eliminates 475,239 kWh per year, or 21.3 percent of the baseline energy consumption of the data center. The total project, including the best practices, will save $42,772 per year and cost $134,057— yielding a simple payback of 3.1 years. The control system eliminates 59.6 percent of the baseline energy used to move air in the data center and 13.6 percent of the baseline cooling energy—which is 15.2 percent of the data center's baseline energy consumption—while substantially keeping temperatures within the limits recommended by ASHRAE. Savings attributed to the control system are $30,564 per year, with a cost of $56,824, for a simple payback of 1.9 years.
Biography:
Geoffrey Bell is an energy engineer in the Environmental Energy Technology Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He is credited with a number of publications, and served as a principal author of the Design Guide for Energy Efficient Laboratories. This publication is intended to assist facility owners, architects, engineers, designers, facility managers, and utility energy-management specialists in identifying and applying advanced energy-efficiency features in laboratory-type environments. Mr. Bell is a Certified State Energy Auditor in New Mexico and a Registered Professional Engineer in both New Mexico and California. He has served as an investigator for the U.S. Department of Energy, a teacher at the University of New Mexico, and an energy engineer contractor to Sandia Corporation, in addition to various other mechanical engineering consulting positions. Mr. Bell received his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Newark College of Engineering and a Master of Architecture degree in environmental design from the University of New Mexico.