An image taken from Future Facilities fact sheet illustrating the company's Virtual Facility simulation
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Data center technology developer Future Facilities (www.futurefacilities.com) reported last week that Cisco (www.cisco.com) reached an estimated savings of $120,000 per year in energy costs by simulating a data center using Future Facilities’ Virtual Facility simulation methods.
The simulation results were used to design the placement of floor grilles and blanking panels that lowered equipment inlet temperatures and enabled the company to raise its chilled water setpoint by eight degrees Fahrenheit.
According to Future Facilities, Cisco applied two techniques for improving energy efficiency to a facility on its San Jose campus that occupies 7,000 square feet and houses 3,202 units of IT equipment, requiring 770 kW of power. The energy bill for the facility included $660,000 per year in cooling energy and $707,000 in IT equipment power, for a total of $1.4 million. The facility has been running since 1999, with limited consideration given to energy efficiency.
The first of the two techniques, applied by a team led by Cisco engineering manager Chris Noland, was the application of familiar best practices, including the use of blanking panels and plastic curtains to separate supply and return air. According to Future Facilities, Noland’s team noted that best practices offered no indication of the outcome, and that they failed to address incompatibilities between equipment and cabinets (rather than room design) as a source of inefficiencies.
The second technique was the application of the Virtual Facility simulation, which provides a detailed 3D model simulating space, power and cooling behavior. Future Facilities says the VF system replaces “inadequate rules of thumb” with scientifically precise measurement in designing the facility.
The VF analysis identified exhaust recirculation within cabinets as the most pressing problem, and informed floor grille ad blanking panel placement in such a way as to reduce hot spots.
By enabling the eight degree increase in chilled water set point, says Future Facilities, Cisco was able to reduce power required for cooling by 30 percent, which equated to $120,000 per year. The company is reportedly taking the VF modeling approach to optimizing performance in other facilities.
A PDF fact sheet on the Virtual Facility product is available for download from the Future Facilities website.
