Data Centre Management

Ed Ansett is founder and chairman of

i3 Solutions Group

Finding the real embodied cost

A new white paper making the case for a whole-life approach should help identify and evaluate the real embodied carbon cost of a data centre, believes Ed Ansett

lobal emissions from new

Gbuild projects are at record levels. Consequently, construction is moving further away from, not closer to net zero buildings. With the current focus very much on the carbon footprint of facility operations, a new white paper presents the case for taking a Whole Life Carbon approach when assessing data centre carbon impact.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) the carbon cost of building is rising. The UNEP Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) global status report highlighted two concerning trends: Firstly that: “CO₂ emissions from the building sector are the highest ever recorded…” and second, “new GlobalABC tracker finds that the sector is losing momentum toward decarbonisation.”

Construction stage

Embodied carbon costs are mainly incurred at the construction stage of any building project. However, these costs can go further than simply the carbon price of materials including concrete and steel, and their use. And while it is true that not all buildings are the same in embodied carbon terms, in almost all cases these emissions created at the beginning of the building lifecycle simply cannot be reduced over time.

Since this is often and, in some cases, especially true in data centres, it is incumbent to consider the best ways for the sector to identify, consider and evaluate the real embodied carbon cost of infrastructure-dense and energy-intensive buildings.

Technical environments and energy intensive buildings such as data centres differ greatly from other forms of commercial real estate, such as offices, warehouses and retail developments. Focusing on the data centre, let’s take for example a new build 50MW facility, it is clear that in order to meet its design objective it’s going to require a great deal more power and cooling infrastructure plant and equipment to function in comparison with other forms of buildings.

Embodied carbon in a data centre comprises all those emissions not attributed to operations as well as the use of energy and water in its day-to-day running. It’s a long list that includes emissions associated with resource extraction, manufacturing, and transportation, as well as those created during the installation of materials and components used to construct the built environment.

Embodied carbon also includes the lifecycle emissions from ongoing use of all of the above, from maintenance, repair and replacements to end-oflife activities such as deconstruction and demolition, transportation, waste processing and disposal. These lifecycle emissions must be considered when accounting for the total carbon cost.

Mission critical facilities

The complexity of mission critical facilities makes it more important than ever to have a comprehensive process to consider and address all sources of embodied carbon emissions early in design and equipment procurement. Only by early and detailed assessment can operators inform best actions which can contribute to immediate embodied carbon reductions.

Boundaries to measure the embodied carbon and emissions of a building at different points in the construction and operating lifecycle are Cradle to Gate; Cradle to Site; Cradle to Use and Cradle to Grave carbon calculations, where “Cradle” is referenced as the earth or ground from which raw materials are extracted.

For data centres these higher levels of infrastructure are equipmentrelated, additional, and important considerations because in embodied carbon terms they will be categorised under Scope 3 of the GHG Protocol Standards - also referred to as ValueChain emissions.

Much of the Scope 3 emissions will be produced by upstream activities that include and cover materials for construction. However, especially important for data centres is that they also include the carbon cost for ongoing maintenance and replacement of the facility plant and equipment.

That brings us to whole of life calculations which will combine embodied and operational carbon.

Combining embodied and operational emissions to analyse the entire lifecycle of a building throughout its useful life and beyond is the Whole Life Carbon approach. It ensures that the embodied carbon (CO₂e emissions) together with embodied carbon of materials, components and construction activities are calculated and available to allow comparisons between different design and construction approaches.

The great efforts to improve efficiency and reduce energy use – as measured through improvements in PUE – have slowed operational carbon emissions even as demand and the scale of facilities has surged. But reducing operational energy of the facility is measured over time and such reductions are not accounted for until 5, 10, 30 years into the future.

However, embodied carbon is mostly spent up-front as the building is constructed; there is, therefore a compelling reason to include embodied carbon within all analyses and data centre design decisions. A ‘Whole Life’ carbon approach that considers the Embodied and the Operational emissions, provides the opportunity to contribute positively to global goals to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases – and will save financial costs.  ● For more guidance on the subject, the i3 Solutions Group and EYP MCF GHG Abatement Group has recently published, “Embodied carbon considerations for Data Centers, Scope, Impact, Reductions” available as a free download from i3.solutions/ embodied-carbon/.

Data Centre Management

Joakim Palmberg is director, segments & applications, SWEP

Solving data centre hunger

Global transitioning to liquid cooling and a demand for more high performing data centres, without compromising on energy efficiency, is more crucial than ever, says Joakim Palmberg

ata storage has become one

Dof the world’s fastest growing businesses as cloud storage becomes more and more commonplace. According to the latest predictions, the energy usage of data center will double between now and 2030, reaching more than 2 per cent of the total global energy consumption.1

The digital transformation has led to a need for more, faster and efficient data centres and the trend seems to last. At the same time, we are challenged by limited energy resources, galloping prices and global warming.

How can we make both ends of the equation to meet?

Storing data consumes a great deal of energy and produces a lot of heat, so large-scale data centres need powerful cooling to ensure optimum running of their IT equipment. Cooling systems typically are responsible for around 40 per cent of the power consumed in a typical data centre, with vapour compression chillers commonly utilised. These use a mechanical compressor powered by electricity, steam, or gas turbines. They produce cooling using the “vapour compression” refrigeration cycle.

Maximising efficiency

Maximising capacity and efficiency while adapting to natural or low GWP2 refrigerants is nowadays essential for vapour compression chillers. Intergovernmental bodies worldwide are tightening regulatory frameworks to further restrict the use of synthetic refrigerants such as chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC). The aim is to replace them with environmentally friendly natural refrigerants as part of the drive to reduce global warming impact.

Liquid cooling of servers is the most energy-efficient way to drive the data centre industry forward. This allows optimum energy use in the technology suite, so more power drives the applications on the servers, rather than the cooling systems.

SWEP’s wide range of Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger (BPHE) evaporators, condensers, economisers and desuperheaters for chillers combine plate and distribution technology, which also includes dual or single refrigerant circuits solutions. They thereby improve efficiency and reliability, reduce pressure drop and minimise refrigerant charge.

Energy can be saved if the ambient temperature can be used to cool the server with the chiller turned off, thereby enabling ‘free cooling’. SWEP

Excess heat obtained from cooling in a data centre can be recovered using BPHEs and supplied directly to a district heating network or nearby buildings

Top tips for data centre energy managers

Sustainable energy

Use renewable energy, typically wind, solar or nuclear.

Liquid cooling

Invest in the most efficient system possible. Air-cooled systems will phase out in the short to medium term.

Efficient chiller system with modern low GWP refrigerants

Lower pressure drop in the system leads to reduced pump size and reduced energy consumption. Compact BPHEs mean lower carbon footprint.

Free cooling

Take advantage of ‘free cooling’, which involves lowering the air temperature in a data centre by utilising naturally cool water instead of mechanical refrigeration. With BPHE from SWEP you have tight temperature approach and can take advantage of free cooling even at small temperature differences (so for a longer period of the year).

Excess heat

Data centre excess heat obtained from cooling can be recovered using BPHEs and supplied directly to a district energy network if available.

White space and the machine room

Optimise your white space by going for compact design. With BPHE the CDU can be smaller and even fit a chassis level CDU. BPHE technology is ideal to use as an intermediate circuit to separate the external glycol loop with the internal server loop.

Further, a tight temperature approach is a key feature of SWEP BPHEs and makes it possible to operate despite low temperature differences and utilise ‘free cooling’ for a longer period of the year, regardless of the season. An expedient BPHE provides high turbulent flow, preventing fouling and scaling and the flows keep particles in the fluid in suspension.

Planning ‘white space’

For cost efficiency, the ‘white space’ in data centres (the area allocated for server cabinets, storage, network gear, racks, air-conditioning units and power-distribution systems) must be planned and used cost-effectively, making compactness of equipment an important factor. The Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) is usually sited next to the servers, though compact in-rack solutions are also frequently used.

Thanks to the BPHE size, both alternatives can be addressed with unparalleled cooling capacity. The BPHE serves as a loop breaker between the media, and the coolant is transferred to the di-electric fluid to cool the servers, with heat transferred in the opposite direction away from the servers. Additionally, SWEP’s 2-Pass flow pattern heat exchangers allow near doubling of thermal performance, within the same footprint.

Excess heat from data centres doesn’t have to be wasted. Surplus heat, for example heat from servers or indeed other machines or industrial processes, can be source for various heating applications. Data centre excess heat obtained from cooling can be recovered using BPHEs and supplied directly to a district energy network or nearby buildings. As waste heat is an unwanted by-product from another process it has a very low carbon footprint. Given the expansion of data centres across the world, there is considerable potential for this type of heat recycling, though there is still a way to go to balance the potential costs with the likely environmental benefit. 

References

1) https://www.propertyfundsworld. com/2021/07/20/303768/pandemicdriven-data-reliance-fuels-record-datacentre-investments

Data Centre Management

Simon Ward is director of sales, UK & Ireland –

Distech Controls

Be brave and be open

Open building management systems are becoming ever more popular in commercial buildings and have numerous benefits for data centres, as Simon Ward explains

ll aspects of business and

Aour lives have become more dependent on web services and digital infrastructure. This requires data centres to operate more reliably and efficiently than ever before. A critical element of our digital infrastructure is the many data centres that process and connect our digital devices to the information needed.

This has meant there has been a rapid growth in data centre construction. “The global data centre colocation market size was valued at $46.08bn in 2020, and is projected to reach at $202.71bn by 2030, growing at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 15.7 per cent from 2021 to 2030.” This growth is not without challenges. Today’s data centre builders and operators must navigate a highly competitive environment amid new considerations by their customers and investors in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Data centre companies continue to benefit from integrating Operational Technology (OT) systems and Information Technology (IT) systems. This IT/OT convergence is a trend seen by hyperscale, colocation and enterprise data centre operators. Originally, convergence was a way to optimise facilities for a more efficient business; now OT visibility is becoming a requirement of data centre customers. Organisations want their digital infrastructure to see, understand and influence the physical world in the interest of creating more nimble and sustainable businesses. The energy costs and environmental impact of a data centre are tightly coupled to the mechanical and electrical systems that support the facility. A data centre company’s control systems that manage and monitor their facility plays a significant role in their success.

There are a few key considerations that need to be taken into account when it comes to designing a control system for a data centre. First, and one of the most important factors is security. Security is paramount when it comes to protecting a data centre and the information within it. Second comes reporting and analytics, data centre stakeholders need to seamlessly access and analyse data in order to make smart business decisions. If anything goes wrong, it is vital that people can monitor alarms, troubleshoot remotely, quickly solve problems and be prepared with the right tools and equipment when necessary. Finally, precise environmental conditions are required to help maintain proper equipment operations and successful remediation of hotspots.

Demand for transparency

The widespread demand for transparency, new data points and improved analytics in the data centre environment requires a controls approach that is secure, scalable, resilient, and flexible.

In the past, building systems have traditionally been proprietary and not flexible like open systems. Proprietary systems speak different languages, resulting in incomplete visibility, data, and reliability, and leave you tied to one, often expensive, service provider.

However, that is changing, and open systems are becoming ever more popular in commercial buildings and have numerous benefits for data centres. Open systems can bring everything together in a cohesive and centralised fashion allowing users to visualise information, assess relationships, establish benchmarks

Open systems have benefits and should hold no fears for data centre operators

and then optimise energy efficiency accordingly.

New open systems can meet even the most demanding data centre control requirements (even remotely) via fully programmable controls and advanced graphical configuration capabilities. For instance, the new Distech Controls ECLYPSE APEX is a powerful HVAC / IoT Edge controller that offers enhanced performance and dedicated spaces to IoT and AI developers. It facilitates HVAC system maintenance, increases efficiency of equipment and optimises energy consumption by leveraging the latest available technology on site.

Embedded RESTful API exchanges data from different applications, such as energy dashboards, analytics tools, and mobile applications, on the premises or from the cloud with the IoT Hub connector. Using a RESTful API interface makes integration easier for systems integrators by enabling IT web services to easily interact with software applications.

The smarter buildings become the higher the importance of cyber security. There are some fundamentals that building owners and system integrators need to consider when it comes to the security of their BMS. As a starting point, the devices or operational technology (OT) should be on a different network to the IT system as they have separate security requirements and various people need to access them. As an example, contractors overseeing BMS devices do not need access to HR information. Each device should be locked down securely so they can only communicate in the way that is required. There should be no unnecessary inbound or outbound traffic from the devices. This links neatly to monitoring. It is vital to monitor the devices after installation and commissioning to ensure there is no untoward traffic to the devices that could threaten a buildings or company’s security. Some manufacturers, such as, Distech Controls, are ensuring their products are secure straight out of the box. Security features are built directly into hardware and software like TLS 256- bit encryption, built-in HTTPS server and HTTPS certificates.

Data centres are unique buildings and a BMS requires careful planning and implementation. An open system has many benefits and should hold no fear for data centre operators, facilities managers or system integrators. 

TALKING HEADS

Clive Merifield

Clive Merifield is business development manager at ZTP a UK energy consultancy and software specialist

How to cope with rising energy prices

British business is being battered by soaring energy prices. Clive Merifield looks at how organisations can cope with price volatility and uncertainty

lectricity and gas prices have

Erisen to historic highs in the past months.

Prices are being driven by various factors, for gas these include storage, high global demand, coal to gas switching, LNG availability and the Russia/Ukraine factor. For power the drivers include gas price, carbon price, the weather and various plant/ connector outages. Unfortunately, prices could go even higher (or pull back dramatically) - a lot depends on what happens in the future to European dependence on Russian gas.

Let’s look at consumption, flexible contracting and alternative options through the lens of coping with rising prices and high price volatility.

Data digitalisation is important for consumption management and waste reduction. Organisations should review existing systems and seek to engage all energy stakeholders with a project to reduce waste by using techniques such as benchmarking.

Most organisations have implemented basic energy efficiency measures.

However, with energy costs high, organisations may consider shifting consumption and production to times when unit costs are the lowest.

Fixed and flexible price supply contracts form the bulk of UK energy procurement. Flex’s principal benefit is its ability to diversify risk by providing the ability to spread trade placement timing and volume throughout the contract period. Furthermore, because flex customers accept the price risk, the supplier risk premium (which is built into fixed price contracts) is reduced, creating a cost saving.

When procuring flexibly the proportion of volume an organisation can hedge is restricted by its ability to provide a volume forecast to a defined tolerance. It may be that a forecast of this accuracy can only be provided three months prior to delivery. Let’s take a theoretical example of an

The digitalisation of energy management is key to achieving efficiencies

Merifield: 'taking a longer-term view to diversify price risk is valuable, particularly when markets are high'

industrial consumer who has: ● 12 months left on their existing flexible power contract ● low risk appetite and value budget certainty ● base load hedged for nine months.

Peak hedged for three months; ● 20 per cent volume tolerance clause; and ● clarity on peak load forecast three months prior to delivery.

The company should look urgently to extend or re-procure its supply contract to provide the option to hedge over a longer period.

Turning to the hedging strategy, it appears the company has taken a speculative stance, counter to its stated appetite for budget certainty and risk avoidance. The company should therefore consider reviewing its hedging strategy and seek to reduce its exposure through hedging.

Diversify price risk

Looking at baseload, the company may consider shifting from hedging nine months to 12 months in advance. For the positions further out, the company may further diversify its price risk by trading 50 per cent of its 12-18 month exposure and 25 per cent of its 18-24 month baseload requirement.

Peak load hedging is more challenging; the business is limited to hedging three months ahead. Methods to improve peak load forecasting should be explored – such as a digital system for consumption forecasting with the objective to improve the peak load forecast duration to perhaps four or five months. This would enable the company to reduce its exposure to market price volatility.

The company should seriously consider implementing a cloud-based flex contract management platform to access live position monitoring and alerting. Ultimately, such a system would have allowed the company to better understand (and manage) its exposure, protect its budget and react quickly to price movements.

Onsite generation projects (such as solar PV) provide long term alternatives. They require capital expenditure and specialist expertise, but provide compelling benefits which include: ● security of supply; ● long-term price certainty; ● removal of commodity and noncommodity price risk; ● positive sustainability impact; and ● revenue from selling to the grid (optional).

Other options include Power Purchase Agreements PPAs) - which would diversify price risk over a longer term, reduce cost and improve sustainability. Batteries, meanwhile, could be considered an option multiplier - enabling flexibility, releasing extra benefits from onsite generation, and providing an additional revenue stream from selling to the grid.

Ultimately onsite generation, storage projects and PPAs should form part of a well thought through energy strategy due to their long-term nature.

Prices are currently high and extremely volatile – it’s entirely feasible they could go higher or fall back significantly. The basics - consumption reduction and flexibility - should be prioritised as a direct method to manage cost and eliminate waste. The digitalisation of energy management is key to achieving these efficiencies.

Flexible contracting’s ability to diversify price risk is valuable, particularly when markets are high. Taking a longer-term view to diversify price risk further is logical. It is important to ensure speculation is only taken in line with organisational objectives and risk appetite.

Having a digitalised platform for flex contract management is valuable to provide a constant watch on consumption, budget and hedging strategy implementation. In addition, a digitalised platform will generate alerts when action is needed to protect the budget and provide data to support decision-making.

Alternative options such as onsite generation, PPAs and storage should be seriously considered - they provide a method to mitigate rising prices once implemented. It is also important to acknowledge that long-term options shouldn’t be undertaken in isolation; they should form part of the organisation’s overall long-term energy strategy. 