Using Wireless Sensor Data to Enable Intelligent Cooling Control in Data Centers – Case Studies

ASHRAE and server manufacturers specify a temperature range for the inlet air into servers. Yet most cooling control is based on return or supply temperature at the cooling unit. In the past, collecting server temperatures required significant wiring, configuration, cost, and time. Even with the right data, determining which cooling unit affects which server rack is a difficult engineering problem that few have solved. Thus, controlling based on server inlet temperature was expensive and difficult, if not impossible. Disruptive technology in wireless mesh network sensing and advances in control algorithms combined with Variable Speed Drives (VSD/VFD) have enabled a more cost effective way to control data center cooling based on server inlet temperatures. This case study will present an overview of the server inlet temperature-based control and case studies of two data centers. Discussion will include data center energy efficiency best practices and utility rebates. You will learn how this control strategy reduced total data center energy costs by 10-17%.

Speaker Details

Jeff Rauenhorst is Vice President of Business Development at Federspiel Controls. He has six years of customer-centered consulting experience at Honeywell focusing on enterprise software, process control, and building management systems. He developed IT systems for pharmaceutical manufacturing. Jeff has an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Notre Dame. He is a Board Member of Opus West, a private real estate development company.

Date:
Speakers:
Jeff Rauenhorst
Affiliation:
Federspiel Controls