Australian Facilities Management Association Finalist
“Most
Significant Research Initiative EXCELLENCE AWARD”
This award is given to a candidate who is deemed to have
made an outstanding contribution to the FM industry
through the delivery of a significant research
initiative.
The “A Triple C System”
essentially uses the existing server room’s air
conditioning equipment and IT racks to allow a retro-fit
to take place without impacting on the day to day
capabilities of the Data Centre, therefore avoiding
excessive replacement costs or relocation costs.Additional hardware & software is introduced to
increase the efficiency and control the computer room
air conditioner compressors and fans.
Data Centres use energy to drive IT equipment and to
cool IT equipment & will continue to use large
quantities of energy into the future. Large warehouses
of computer servers & related IT equipment are the
engine rooms behind data capture and storage for
government and large corporate organisations & they use
considerably more energy.For example, Google spends around $38 million a
year on powering its servers.Microsoft spends $36 million. (http://gigaom.com/cleantech/what-a-price-on-carbon-would-cost-data-center-operators/accessed 21 September
2010)
It’s a similar story in Australia, with estimates suggesting the
Information and Communication Technology elements of
corporate Australia generate
around 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, the
equivalent to
1.52 per cent of total national carbon dioxide emissions
(Australian
Computer Society, 2007). A large portion of this energy usage is related to
cooling the heat generated by the IT equipment. These
cooling costs associated with keeping hundreds of
servers at an optimal temperature and humidity represent
up to 45% of the total energy consumed within the Data
Centre.
Spotless trial new approach & installs the “A Triple C
system”.
A 6
week trial was conducted with the purpose of testing the
theory behind the A Triple C System (Air
Conditioning Containment
& Control
System) as a method of reducing energy consumption, lowering carbon
emissions & reducing operational costs without impacting
on the day to day capabilities of the existing &
proposed IT equipment. All of these goals where
achieved.
Data from the 6 week trial indicates the
“A Triple C System”
delivered a 33.7% reduction in energy consumption
related to the air conditioning equipment & increased
the operational life of the air conditioning equipment
by up to 50%.This represents a 15%+ reduction in the total
energy (kWh) consumed within the data centre.
“This ambitious
pilot program to slash computer room cooling costs has
seen Spotless, and its partners, deliver impressive
savings related to the IT energy costs for the
Australian
Department of Defence (ACT).”
Additionally,
the ”A Triple C System” reduced the computer
room’s Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) from 2.02 down to
1.52 & with additional modifications in the near future
the expected PUE could be 1.35, with the world’s best
practice currently sitting at 1.3.
What is unique about the A Triple C system is that it
offers an impressive ROI and allows you to build on your
Net Present Value (NPV). This is accomplished using
existing equipment, separating the hot air from the cold
air and then adding additional software to increase
overall efficiency of the compressors and fans.
