AFCOM’s Data Center World is scheduled for October 4-7, 2009 in Orlando Florida.

The “Early Bird Rate Cut-Off Date” is tomorrow August 14, 2009.

Registeration Link

I have found the educational programs to be well worth the investment.

Hope to see you there.

James Cerwinski

Power IQ Data Center Energy Management System Release 1.4 is GA.

Power IQ 1.4 contains the following improvements over 1.3.1:

1. Multi-Vendor power control
1. Remote power control of outlets, IT devices, groups of IT devices and racks
2. Scheduled power control operations
3. Configurable on/off sequence and delay of IT devices within a device group
4. Operation Confirmation & Reason
5. Audit Log
2. Single pane of glass management of APC, Avocent, Cyber Switching, Geist, HP, ServerTech, MRV and Raritan Ethernet enabled rack PDUs and in-line meters for power control and analytics reporting.
3. Easy and comprehensive user device grouping and permission management
4. Temperature charts support both Celsius and Fahrenheit
5. PX environmental sensors can now be charted in the analytics section
6. Calculate and chart active power, energy and cost for in-line meters and rack PDUs that only provide Amps

Download Free Energy Management System – License Limited to 5 Devices

James Cerwinski

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) offers a Data Center Energy Efficiency performance based incentive to offset the cost of projects that improve energy efficiency in Data Centers.

The Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPS) has approved funding of 93 million dollars for the period of 2009 – 2011. Their objective is to reduce the state’s consumption by 15% by 2015.

The incentive per kWh saved is $0.16/kWh for Con Edison customers and $0.12/kWh for upstate customers. Applicants are eligible for up to $5,000,000 per facility, not to exceed 50% of project cost.

Key project requirements are:

• measurement and verification
• persistence
• system benefit charge customer

Get started by submitting an application:

Data Center Energy Incentive Application

My understanding is that applications can be processed within a week followed by the following five steps:

1. site visit for project screening
2. measurement and verification plan
3. install monitoring equipment
4. project installation and 60% incentive payout
5. post project verification and 40% incentive payout

Let me know if you have success with this program.

James Cerwinski

Data Center Efficiency Solutions Consultant – Henry Hsu – Presented an insightful take on the utility and the limitations of Power Usage Effectiveness(”PUE”) as a data center efficiency metric. His thought leadership presentation covers:

• Historical Basis for PUE – what is the problem?
• Strengths of PUE Metric – what does it measure?
• Weaknesses of PUE Metric – what does it omit?
• Bottom Line: How to be Strategic About Datacenter Efficiency

I suggest you view it to at least find out how HenryandhisCat.com achieved a prefect PUE of 1.0. Do you know the PUE of your lab or data center? if so what is it?

James Cerwinski

Xcel Energy is a leading electric company with regulated operations in 8 Western and Midwestern states including – Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.

They have created an energy resource library with information on how commercial companies can reduce energy consumption. One section of this library specifically covers the topic of Managing Energy Costs in Data Centers.

This section provides an overview of Data Center Energy Consumption, quick fixes to reduce energy consumption and longer-term solutions.

I reached out to them to find out if the offer special rebates or incentives to data centers and labs.

Do you know of any such programs?

James Cerwinski

The US Department of Energy funds the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to administrate a Database of State Incentives for Renewable and Efficiency Programs “DSIRE”.

DSIRE is the most comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

In addition to providing details about the many programs the site provides people you can contact which is always helpful.

Energy Efficiency Rebate & Incentive Database

Let me know if you find a good program in your area.

James Cerwinski

Apparent Power is the Total Power Flowing

When electrical power in an AC system flows to a load (a computer, motor, lighting, cooling, etc.) all of the power is not necessarily absorbed and used to perform useful work – a portion of the power may be reflected back to the power source (power company).

The total power flowing is known as the “apparent power” and is measured as the product of the voltage and current (V * I).. For example, if 208 volts and 5 amps are measured – the apparent power is 1040VA (VA means volt-amps – the measurement unit of apparent power).

Active Power is the portion of Total Power put to Useful Work

The portion of power that is absorbed and used by the load is known as the “active power” and is always equal to or less than the apparent power. For example, if 90% of the apparent power in above example is used by the load, the active power is 936W (W means watts – the measurement unit of active power).

The ratio of the active power to the apparent power is known as the power factor and is a number between 0.0 and 1.0. The power factor in the above example is 936/1040 = .90.

Most modern computers incorporate power factor corrected (PFC) power supplies – and their power factor is .95 or better. This means 95% of the power flowing (the apparent power) is performing usefully work and 5% or less of the total power is being reflected back to the power company.

Active Power is Important since it is the Primary Measurement for Billing

Utility companies charge for active power but will penalize companies with poor power factors. Poor power factor is usually a system of large inductive loads such as motors – not modern computers.

Michael Suchoff

It was a historic moment when the house passed the carbon cap and trade bill on June 26th. This is confirmation of a major shift in US policy on the topic. The following post explains the certain outcome you need to plan for.

There has been much debate on the details on the bill – the good, the bad and how it might be modified when the senate takes up the debate. I will leave that debate to others.

From my perspective, one certain outcome is that the price of electricity will rise. Therefore, you need to prepare to be more energy efficient now.

The following confirms the direction.

• The congressional budget office and the EPA forecast that energy prices will increase due to this legislation.
• Ralph Izzo, the CEO of PSEG Energy, is quoted as “yes ,energy prices will rise”

Key provisions of the bill

1. Mandates that 20% of electrical demand be met with renewable sources by 2020. If you assume utilities are using the lowest cost fuel today – a mandated shift to another source will mean a shift to a higher cost source otherwise you would not have to mandate it. Higher cost fuel sources mean higher prices.
2. Mandates a 17% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and 80% by 2050. This will likely require utilities to both shift fuel sources and purchase new technology to reduce emissions from burning coal. Increased capital expenditures will mean higher prices.
3. Mandates new energy standards for buildings and industry. This could result in unforeseen demand shifts – large demand increases in areas that shift to “plug in cars” and falling demand in other areas. A large change in demand will result in a price change . The law of supply and demand does not always work in the regulated world, often a drop in demand can result in a rate increase since prices are determined by return on equity.

I hope for the best, but plan for the worst. I hope we realize all the promised benefits. But you need to plan for higher electric rates.

Share your energy savings strategies.

James Cerwinski

New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program provides energy rebates for custom projects that reduce energy consumption by at least 25,000 kWh per year. The custom project program is for projects beyond standard projects such as upgrading a HVAC. It can cover projects such as server virtualization and deploying a data center energy management system that will turn off systems at scheduled times provided the energy savings is predicable, documented and meets all other program criteria.

The program is funded and governed by the State of NJ and the BPU. The total clean energy program is funded at $90 million for 2009. This program is state wide and not limited to a specific utility.

The rebate is the the smaller of:

80% of the incremental project cost or a buy down to 2 year project payback.

All projects must be approved prior to start. Application approval is not guaranteed and can take up to 2 months.

In order to submit a project for review complete:

Custom Electrical Equipment Application

Custom Project Data sheet

Please comment if you have had any experience with this program

James Cerwinski

Want to be more energy efficient and your data center is in Austin, Texas? Austin Energy offers up to $200,000 in rebate opportunities.

Austin Energy’s data center efficiency rebate is available on:

-Retrofitted Server Virtualization
-Massive Array Idle (MAID) Disc Storage Systems
-Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
-Chillers/Cooling Towers
-A Variety of Custom Technologies

Data center owners, design professionals and contractors can file rebate applications.

Learn more at:

Data Center Energy Efficiency Information and Rebate Forms

Tell me about other utilities offering rebates.

James Cerwinski