Event Recap
RECAP | ROUNDTABLE | What You Need to Know About Smart Energy
Smart Energy will continue to prove a hot topic, based on the discussions in a February 12, 2019, roundtable joined by Uptime Institute’s Andy Lawrence, a co-lead analyst of an Uptime Institute Intelligence report, Smart Energy in the Data Center.
As the discussion progressed, it became clear that the report accurately anticipates the pain points that make Smart Energy an attractive potential solution. These issues include the need for increased resiliency, requirements for greater efficiency and reduced capital cost, and most pointedly, concerns about stranded capacity. At least three of the roundtable participants cited data center capacity issues as their reason for joining the roundtable. All three operate facilities at the higher densities required to meet modern workloads in spaces built to meet workloads typical of 1999-2000. One participant noted a density increase from 800 watts/rack to 16 kilowatts/rack.
While all remained enthusiastic about the potential of Smart Energy, Andy took time to note that Smart Energy would not be a panacea for stranded capacity. He noted that freeing stranded power capacity is not an adequate solution when the utility power supply was inadequate to meet load. He also noted that upgrading a facility to deploy Smart Energy technologies could itself be an expensive proposition, depending on the state of the infrastructure and controls in any given facility.
Less time was spent on notions of adaptive resiliency and energy efficiency, but Andy did note that Smart Energy concepts include software-controlled power, including interactions with the electric utility, which could enable data center owners to mix and match power from various sources to increase efficiency and reduce cost.
Finally, in a discussion that continued via email after the session, a roundtable participant noted that his facility routinely sized infrastructure to meet startup loads 1.6 times greater than maximum operating load. This observation led to a two-track discussion about whether Smart Energy could help manage these costs and whether other operators sized their infrastructure similarly.
As the discussion progressed, it became clear that the report accurately anticipates the pain points that make Smart Energy an attractive potential solution. These issues include the need for increased resiliency, requirements for greater efficiency and reduced capital cost, and most pointedly, concerns about stranded capacity. At least three of the roundtable participants cited data center capacity issues as their reason for joining the roundtable. All three operate facilities at the higher densities required to meet modern workloads in spaces built to meet workloads typical of 1999-2000. One participant noted a density increase from 800 watts/rack to 16 kilowatts/rack.
While all remained enthusiastic about the potential of Smart Energy, Andy took time to note that Smart Energy would not be a panacea for stranded capacity. He noted that freeing stranded power capacity is not an adequate solution when the utility power supply was inadequate to meet load. He also noted that upgrading a facility to deploy Smart Energy technologies could itself be an expensive proposition, depending on the state of the infrastructure and controls in any given facility.
Less time was spent on notions of adaptive resiliency and energy efficiency, but Andy did note that Smart Energy concepts include software-controlled power, including interactions with the electric utility, which could enable data center owners to mix and match power from various sources to increase efficiency and reduce cost.
Finally, in a discussion that continued via email after the session, a roundtable participant noted that his facility routinely sized infrastructure to meet startup loads 1.6 times greater than maximum operating load. This observation led to a two-track discussion about whether Smart Energy could help manage these costs and whether other operators sized their infrastructure similarly.
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