CSE Pure Power - Fall 2008 - (Page 30)

❯❯ PURE POWER // FALL 2008 30 ideas & innovations operating conditions. Sites performing RCM have reported not negatively affect the inherent levels of reliability and 14% to 50% of direct cost savings to their maintenance maintainability, a highly available facility will result. A program. These cost savings are achieved by minimizing reliability strategy describes how an organization approachunnecessary maintenance tasks and concentrating the effort es reliability for all systems and services it develops and on equipment that poses relatively high operational risk. provides to its customers. The strategy can be considered This more educated maintenance focus also has bearing as the basic formula for success, applicable across all types of systems and services. A reliability program is the application of the reliability strategy to a speciﬁc system or process. Each step in the strategy requires the selection and Energy efﬁciency and sustainability use of speciﬁc methods and tools. For example, various methods can be used to develop requirements or to evaluate Though the government’s role in protecting our planet’s natural resources has become much potential failures. more pronounced in the past 20 years, it is amazing how quickly these forces have converged Developing requirements, translaon the emerging problem posed by the proliferation of data center development. tions, and analytical models can be The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that 1.5% of the country’s emissions used to derive requirements. Quality come from data centers, a number that has doubled from 2000 to 2006, and is on track to function deployment is a technique surpass the airline industry by 2020. Not only are the EPA and other federal agencies like the for deriving more detailed, lower-level Dept. of Energy (DOE) and the General Services Administration (GSA), focused on data center requirements, beginning with customer development, but programs like Energy Star, U.S. Green Building Council LEED, Green Globes, needs. It was developed originally as and Green Grid have illuminated the gains that can be made in data center energy usage and part of the total quality management the efﬁciency of such facilities. Three programs deserve mention and are part of the EPA and movement. Translations are parametthe DOE’s combined National Data Center Energy Efﬁciency Information Program. ric models intended to derive design ★ The Energy Star Program establishes a rating system that has been applied across a values of reliability from operational broad spectrum of commercial buildings. On a scale of 1 to 100, buildings must obtain an values, and vice versa. Analytical methenergy rating of 75 or above to receive the same sort of Energy Star label for superior energy ods include thermal analysis, durability management that has been applied to appliances like refrigerators and washing machines. So analysis, and predictions. far, less than 7% of more than 60,000 commerical buildings have been able to meet this stanWhen it comes to facility O&M, every dard. Since data centers, however, have an entirely different energy-use proﬁle, the EPA, along facility asks the question, “How can we with the DOE, the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, and several industry partners, developed be more efﬁcient?” Modern private and the DC Pro software tool to measure energy effectiveness speciﬁcally in data centers. Although government facilities have begun to this tool is currently in the historical data gathering state, it is expected to be rolled out after recognize that a strict manufacturer’s a performance model can be developed on material gathered from 100 national data centers recommendations for tasking and task(www.energystar.gov/datacenters). One of the performance models in current use, and gaining ing intervals may not be the best bang in acceptance, is the power usage effectiveness ratio. Designed to measure how much energy for the buck. This is partly because a a piece of IT equipment needs from the source in order to perform its function, the ratio really manufacturer’s recommendations do reaches to the very core of the issue on energy efﬁciency in the data center. not account for varying or site-speciﬁc ★ The DOE’s Save Energy Now is aimed at continual energy improvement across a data dynamics and operating conditions. center’s development and management over time. In addition to its commitment to the DC Pro Reliability-centered maintenance tool, Save Energy Now also is putting emphasis on data center assessments, training, certiﬁca(RCM) analyses seek to rank facility tion, and best-in-class guidelines and lessons learned that can be applied across the entire equipment by their presumed operational data center, as well as its systems and subsystems (www.eere.energy.gov/datacenters). risk. This rank is achieved by consider★ The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) speciﬁcally works through and with ing reliability metrics and the importance federal agencies like GSA and the Ofﬁce of Management & Budget to promote DC Pro and other of equipment function to overall facility data center energy efﬁciency workshops, surveys, information, alliances, and recognition/ operation. These equipment ranks and awards programs. As federal agencies go through their own data center transformations, FEMP reliability metrics serve to assist facility acts as their voice when working with Congress and the executive branch to promote policy and management in making well-informed disseminate tools and resources that reduce the cost and environmental impact of energy use. and effective decisions pertaining to the The industry is reacting to these initiatives in large measure through the development of overall maintenance program. new technologies and practices in the data center space. These innovations have come from Speciﬁcally, an RCM analysis can such diverse directions as server optimization/virtualization; dc power (as opposed to ac power) bridge the gap between a manufacturdirect to the rack and component; alternative power generation, like geothermal and fuel cells; er’s recommendations and a plant’s and optimized cooling systems, like liquid cooling and “smart” sensors. www.purepowermagazine.com http://www.energystar.gov/datacenters http://www.eere.energy.gov/datacenters http://www.purepowermagazine.com

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CSE Pure Power - Fall 2008 In the News Commissioning CHP Enhancing Emergency Lighting Data Centers for Uncle Sam Handling a Nuisance Trip Sustainable Projects and Partnerships New Products Ad Index

CSE Pure Power - Fall 2008

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