Designing the Next Generation Embedded Data Center

Silicon Valley Leadership Group

November 5, 2014

Agenda

1. Background

2. Solution setting overview

3. Market interventions

4. Cloud panel

5. Next steps

Embedded Data Centers Defined Server rooms, closets, and localized data centers embedded in other commercial and institutional buildings Often (but not always) less than 500 square feet in size or less than 50 kW in load Standard metrics needed (e.g. kWh/rack)

Data Center Research Collaborative 1. Interviews with representative market actors to understand

the behaviors that underlie documented barriers

2. Development of “draft” market interventions

3. Seattle work session with end users, vendors and channels to build out concepts of new market interventions to change behavior

4. Silicon Valley work session with utilities, end users, vendors, channels and industry experts to define operational plans for the market interventions and related deemed measures

The Collaborative: Partners

Contracted Support

Mark

Bramfitt

Workshop & Interventions

Seattle Workshop – Preferred Solutions 4 solutions had potential for market intervention

Website clearinghouse

48%

Shared savings business model

25%

Tenant support services

15%

Strategic energy champion

12%

% of Votes

Silicon Valley Workshop: Solution Setting

• Build on Seattle workshop

• Outline and deepen operational plans & program design concepts

1. Deemed measures/standard assessments

2. Website clearinghouse

3. Shared savings / Audits - business model

4. Strategic energy champion

Work Session Participation 46 Participants from organizations, on 5 “teams” including:

Utilities City of Palo Alto Utilities NEEA PG&E Silicon Valley Power

Vendors APC Box Emerson HP Schneider

End-Users City of Palo Alto City of San Jose PG&E Genentech Oracle Box Industry Experts

CA Technical Forum DOE Ecology Action LBNL NRDC

Channels Future Facilities SYNNEX

Industry Consultants Bramfitt Consulting QDI Strategies PECI

1. Deemed Measures

• Efficient servers

• Efficient UPS

• Storage optimization

• Server virtualization (re-open for smaller DCs)

• VFDs on CRACs/CRAHs

• Other/ non-deemed: – Controls upgrades

– Automated cooling optimization

– DCEP-facilitated audits; enhanced audits

– MBCx for data centers (DCIM)

Deemed | Making it Work

• Primary target: VARs and mechanical/electrical contractors

• Marketing to multiple audiences: end users, VARs, property managers

• Vendors design products to certain standards, so a national model may be needed (upstream)

• Financial support for Assessment process/tools

Deemed | Making it Work

• Significant work to develop values & get approvals

– Management of utility program risk: Incremental cost, NTG, evaluation

• Technology shifts are rapid

– Can’t get behind individual products, need to get behind platforms or metrics that don’t change

– Keeping up with the deemed values

– Persistence of savings

2. Website

• A website to find relevant, unbiased, trusted information about data center efficiency

• Best practices, case studies, resource library, tool library, social media, rankings and reviews, technology showcases, “bid marketplace”

• Zip code look up to relevant utility program incentives, codes and standards, and regional vendors

Website: Market Actors

Website | Making it Work

• Collaboration continues to be critical

• Requires vendor neutral framework

• Great platform for upstream or deemed incentives

• Core marketing through existing organizations, vendors, social media, etc.

• Explorations: Long-term administration and funding

3. Shared Savings

• ESCO model for data centers

• “Data centers as a service”

Shared Savings | Making it Work

• Requires further discussion with ESCOs and utilities

• Utility-approved audit methodology - support savings calculations

• Scalability and feasibility requires exploration

• Savings potential, building sizes and types, M&V, persistence

• Name recognition: Google, etc.

4. Strategic Energy Champion

• Program to support individuals who would receive training and coaching to help them promote energy efficient solutions within their firm/data center

• Recognition, corporate support, leverage into organizations’ sustainability missions

Energy Champion | Making it Work

• Limited success in reaching embedded DCs of larger organizations

• Not scalable to smaller companies

• Unclear if the existence of a market transformation program would make them more effective

• But…May be able to piggy-back onto other programs

The Cloud

Cloud Panel Understand how migration to the Cloud affects the physical infrastructure of embedded data centers

• Who (industries, applications, size of firm…) moves to the cloud

• How firms implement this change

• What happens to the applications and servers running in embedded data centers (when is the old application retired, who does it…)

Cloud | What We Heard • Cloud is not an either/or: Movement is hybrid and not

black and white

• Not all Clouds created equally

• “Forklifting” and redesigning

• Certain apps are born in the cloud • People will migrate and stay there

(Amazon, Salesforce, Box, etc.)

• Migration depends on the workload being done (complexity of production, privacy, seasonality, etc.)

• Every application has an ROI

• Certain business layers can move easily

• Keep the core, outsource the rest

Hybrid movement, capacity, resiliency

Next Steps

Programs & Products 1. Deemed: Additional multi-utility program design sessions

PG&E; other CA utilities

2. Website: Further exploration regarding governance with potential collaborators

NEEA; LBNL; The Green Grid

3. Shared savings: Further exploration about the business model

PG&E; ESCOs

4. Impact of the Cloud on DC applications, infrastructure, and energy use: additional research

…Continued collaboration across utilities, organizations, vendors, and regions.

PG&E EM&V

1. Produce and disseminate Workshop Report

2. Complete field engineer’s toolkit

– LBNL as lead reviewer

– PECI as implementer

3. Produce Final Report with market interventions and solution

Questions

&

Discussion

Thank you!

Priscilla Johnson, PG&E Mary Medeiros McEnroe, Silicon Valley Power Geoff Wickes, NEEA Rob Curry, NEEA Michelle Lichtenfels, PECI Mike Barr, QDI Chris Harty, QDI William Tschudi, LBNL Dale Sartor, LBNL