Smarter Opportunities for Data Centers
How the Smart Grid will impact data center operations
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
By Charles O'Donnell
The central framework of the nation’s electrical grid was established in the late 19th century. Considering that, it should come as no surprise that the power grid has become functionally obsolete. It is no longer capable of addressing the unique demands and challenges of a next-generation power infrastructure.
This fact rings particularly true for the country’s rapidly growing information technology (IT) and telecommunications industries, which require a secure grid capable of reliably accommodating alternative energy solutions as they are implemented in the 21st century and beyond.
While the development of a Smart Grid promises energy users more control over their consumption and associated costs, it will also mean additional considerations for those who design and equip the facilities, such as data centers, that will “plug in” to a Smart Grid.
While many organizations have adopted a wait-and-see approach to Smart Grid, the increased focus on energy efficiency and the move toward government subsidies and credits for efficient and green energy use is motivating others to plan for Smart Grid integration and understand how it will impact data center operations.
New Energy Value Chain
At its core, a Smart Grid can be characterized as a decentralized power infrastructure that facilitates the delivery of electricity from suppliers to consumers via two-way digital-control technology. This represents a new energy value chain. The traditional electricity value chain has been power generation, transmission, distribution, and consumption (Figure 1). This will significantly change as we move towards a Smart Grid.
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| FIGURE ONE: This graphic represents the traditional electricity value chain and the primary entities that are involved in each area. |
Tremendous technological progress has been made in the systems that generate and consume power, and it is these technological advances that are helping lead to a Smart Grid and a completely new energy value chain. The new energy value chain will link power generation and consumption more closely, by dramatically upgrading the current transmission and distribution systems. This will better enable end users and utilities to closely work together to monitor usage and make smart decisions about power needs and consumption (Figure 2).
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| FIGURE TWO: The new energy value chain will link power generation and consumption more closely, by dramatically upgrading the current transmission and distribution systems. |
According to the US Department of Energy’s “A Vision for the Modern Grid,” a Smart Grid approach will offer seven key enhancements over the existing grid to enhance reliability and minimize environmental impact:
- The grid will encourage active consumer participation.
- The grid will accommodate all generation and energy storage options (“Plug-and-Play” compatibility).
- The grid will enable new products, services, and markets.
- The grid will operate efficiently and optimize the utilization of existing and new assets.
- The grid will anticipate and respond to system disturbances in a self-healing manner, operating resiliently against physical/cyber attacks and natural disasters.
- The grid will provide the power quality required for a digital-, computer-, and communication-based economy.
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| The solar array on the roof the Emerson data center facility in St. Louis. At 7,800-square-feet, it is among the largest rooftop PV arrays used by a data center. |
Data Center Energy Usage
The data center has become the hub of IT and has seen a dramatic increase in the density and quantity of devices it supports. This has created a situation where energy costs are now a significant component of overall operating costs, and power management is critical to capacity management and resource utilization.
According to the EPA, the demand has been increasing by approximately 12% per year. The financial implications are significant. The EPA has estimated that annual power costs for US data centers now range as high as $3.3 billion. Further, this equates to approximately 53 billion kWh of electricity.
Data center efficiency has gained much attention during the past years from both the government and private sectors. The EPA, through its Energy Star Program, has been assessing the growth in data center power consumption, evaluating the status of more energy-efficient computer equipment, as well as analyzing cost reduction and associated benefits that can be achieved through more aggressive conservation measures. The agency is planning an Energy Star rating for data centers to begin in June of this year.
The Green Grid, a consortium of IT companies and professionals, is actively working with IT providers to find ways to improve energy efficiency in data centers and business computing ecosystems. Formed in 2007, the organization is working with the EPA to unite global industry efforts to standardize on a common set of metrics, processes, methods, and new technologies to further this goal.
Impact on the Data Center
For data centers, the development of a Smart Grid promises a number of benefits, including greater control of power consumption, energy efficiency, and cost reductions. It also will create a new layer of data to support critical decision making about energy usage. And while the overhaul of the electrical grid will not be complete for years, if not decades, it is important to consider now what this will mean for data centers.
Renewable Forms of Onsite Generation
Many facilities housing data centers have some form of onsite power generation; most commonly a generator. However, the use of this onsite power generation is often limited to emergency backup power in case of interruptions of utility power.
As the country moves closer to a Smart Grid, new technologies, such as smart generation control systems, will enable data centers to better balance their load needs by integrating and utilizing renewable forms of electricity generation, such as high-efficiency wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) solar arrays.
These renewable forms of electricity generation will be able to be networked together using advanced conductors that have lower losses, allowing higher efficiencies to be obtained. Integrated grid interface controllers will also work in conjunction with a smart meter to respond to time-of-day pricing signals, as well as indicators of the grid’s level of stress. The total system will enable improved economics for power distribution and minimize wide fluctuations in the supply and demand of electricity.
Additional Surge Protection Considerations
The importance of protecting data center power quality will be heightened when a Smart Grid is developed. By definition, the Smart Grid promises enhanced integration and interconnection; meaning, problems at one facility could possibly impact another facility.
Sensitive equipment will be subjected to lightning strikes and all of the other typical elements along the power path that create noise and can damage circuitry. As such, the additional components added to a facility to enable Smart Grid, in most cases, will need to be protected by a surge protection device in the same way the utility service entrance, servers, and desktop electronics are protected. The same applies for those renewable forms of onsite generation, such as wind turbines and PV solar arrays.
Surge- or power-quality-related issues that damage the fundamental communication and metering components upon which the Smart Grid is based, at any given location or facility, could compromise the effectiveness of the overall Smart Grid and negatively impact other members of that grid community. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is aware of this issue and has formed committees to address the unique surge requirements for solar and wind power generation.
Allocation of Criticality
The development of a Smart Grid will give facilities and data centers a powerful incentive to initiate a strong delineation between types of loads, such as non-essential, essential, and critical, and then manage the load types by policy. Delineating between types of loads and managing by policy will enable energy users to easily plan and select loads that can be appropriately shed. Smart utility meters will communicate with monitors to provide real-time tools to gauge usage and associated costs, allowing informed decisions to be made based on energy costs and load criticalities, to manage or reduce those costs.
In a facility, a non-essential load might be the lighting in unused parts of the facility, an essential load could be hallway or office lighting, and a critical load might be a data center or emergency lighting system. Within the data center, the delineation would primarily focus on critical applications and time-critical tasks, the servers where they are housed, and the powering and cooling units that support those servers.
With Smart Grid, facilities can choose to shed non-critical loads when energy costs are at their peak to realize additional cost-savings. For data centers, Smart Grid means they can schedule non time-critical tasks at off-peak energy use hours. For example, batch processing can easily be done overnight, when overall demand for energy is lower, reducing energy costs.
The decision can also be made to move less critical loads to a power supply generated onsite during peak energy use times. Business-critical IT functions can be maintained with the same integrity they require, while non-critical loads can be treated with more flexibility. Accordingly, there would now be an opportunity to accurately implement a charge-back program and increase awareness about energy consumption levels. Those departments that utilize data center space that require maximum availability can be charged for it, while departments with less-stringent IT availability requirements can see some cost savings.
Building Automation Systems Integration
Most facilities with critical power needs currently have some type of building automation system (BAS) that controls most elements of the facility. These systems provide an easy way to connect to demand-response programs many utilities are beginning to put in place. These programs allow the facility to work with utilities to turn off, or shed, designated, non-critical loads if certain conditions exist, or during peak demand times. For example, the utility would alert the facility if the rate of electricity increases to a certain level. The BAS would then shed load by taking predetermined actions, such as turning off lights that have been designated non-essential, or moving the air-conditioning setpoint up one or two degrees.
Renewed Emphasis on Monitoring
In recent years, monitoring—especially at the equipment and device level—and the critical role it places in managing energy use, has been gaining more attention. With a Smart Grid, it now becomes a significant piece of the puzzle that will allow data centers to use load delineations to shed non-critical loads and realize energy savings.
With greater intelligence embedded in controllers and monitoring systems, data centers will be able to deploy these at the device-level, as well as the facility-level. This broad range for integrated communications and interconnectivity allows every part of the facility to actively engage with demand-resource controls from the energy provider and compensate for changes in the power-consumption profile.
Branch circuit and rack power distribution unit technologies already allow data centers to collect energy consumption information at the branch, rack, and server receptacle level. This data can then be analyzed in real-time monitoring software packages to measure overall energy consumption and efficiency. Determining how much power is being used by any piece of data center equipment enables the data center to optimize asset allocation according to a set demand-response program to either minimize power consumption at peak hours or purchase power grades of a higher quality that minimizes spikes and other irregularities that impact on the electrical systems.
Preparing for a Smart Grid
As governments, utilities, and companies continue to invest in the research and technologies to develop a Smart Grid, it’s important that energy users make preparations and consider how a Smart Grid will impact their facility or data center. There are technologies available that give data centers a better understanding and control of energy consumption. This control enables energy users to make smarter decisions about energy consumption and management, as Smart Grid becomes a reality.
Below are five key steps that can be taken today:
- If not currently being done, begin talking with local utility about their Smart Grid initiatives, plans, incentives, and timelines.
- Consult with an energy management specialist to evaluate current and future energy needs, consumption levels, and patterns.
- Evaluate current building automation and infrastructure management systems, as well as onsite generation capacity, if applicable.
- Develop a strong delineation for load types (critical, essential, and non-essential) and a policy for prioritization.
- Stay current with local and federal government mandates and regulations relative to the Smart Grid, as well as onsite power generation.
Author's Bio: Charles O'Donnell is the vice president of power engineering for the Liebert AC Power business of Emerson Network Power. |
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