Issue 3 - October 2007
Welcome to the third issue of High Tech News, a periodic e-newsletter describing the latest research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) on high-performance buildings for high-tech industries. The newsletter focuses on raising the energy performance of critical facilities such as data centers, cleanrooms, and laboratories. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send email here.
General Interest
LBNL Staff Share in Presidential Award
LBNL's Dale Sartor, Paul Mathew, and Geoffrey Bell were among the six-person team to receive the Presidential Award for Leadership in Federal Energy Management in October 2007. The team was recognized for its years of involvement in the Laboratories for the 21st Century program, which has produced many practical design resource and brought together a large community of practitioners in annual conferences. More information here. [Contact: Dale Sartor]
Data Centers
Global Energy Use by Data Center Servers
An LBNL project scientist has developed estimates of global energy use by data center servers in a consulting project for AMD. Aggregate electricity use for servers doubled over the period 2000 to 2005 both in the U.S. and worldwide. Almost all of this growth was the result of increased numbers of the least expensive servers, with only a small part of that growth being attributable to growth in the power use per unit. Total power used by servers represented about 0.6% of total U.S. electricity consumption in 2005. When cooling and auxiliary infrastructure are included, that number grows to about 1.2%, an amount comparable to that for color televisions. Total power demand in 2005 (including associated infrastructure) is equivalent (in capacity terms) to about five 1000-MW power plants for the U.S. and 14 such plants for the world. The total electricity bill for operating those servers and associated infrastructure in 2005 was about $2.7 B and $7.2 B for the U.S. and the world, respectively. Full report for AMD here: [Contact: Jonathan Koomey]
Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency
LBNL staff contributed to a major report from EPA to Congress this past August on the potential for energy efficiency in data centers. Major stakeholders from around the country participated in the report’s development through a public workshop and other means. The report assesses current trends in the energy use and costs of data centers and servers in the U.S. and outlines existing and emerging opportunities for improved energy efficiency. It also makes recommendations for pursuing these energy-efficiency opportunities broadly across the country through the use of information and incentive-based programs. Three major scenarios were developed: “Improved operation,” “Best practice,” and “State of the art”. Compared to the current trends (which include some efficiency gains), energy use nationally could be reduced by about 60% between 2007 and 2011, valued at over $5 billion per year and 47 million metric tons of CO2 each year. These savings come without compromising product or data center performance. Full report to Congress here. [Contact: Rich Brown]
A Breath of Fresh Air for Data Centers
Data centers require continuous air conditioning to address high internal heat loads (heat release from equipment) and maintain indoor temperatures within recommended operating levels for computers. Air economizer cycles, which bring in large amounts of outside air to cool internal loads when weather conditions are favorable, could save cooling energy. There is reluctance from many data center owners to use this common cooling technique, however, due to fear of introducing pollutants and potential loss of humidity control. Concerns about equipment failure from airborne pollutants lead to specifying as little outside air as permissible for human occupants. To better understand contamination levels, PG&E commissioned LBNL to conduct environmental monotoring (including humidity and particle) monitoring at eight data centers in Northern California. The study found that, when averaged annually, concentrations remain below current particle concentration limits, and well below outdoor levels. In the diagram, for example, indoor levels rarely passed 1 microgram per cubic meter, whereas outdoor levels for the same time period averaged about 25, and occasionally surpassed 50. The diagram shows levels in the ambient air (RmAmb) and at the server (PreServer) at one of the sites. Modest improvements in filtration (ASHRAE 85%) can reduce particle concentrations to nearly match the level found in data centers that do not use economizers. Humidity in data centers with economizers can also be controlled within the ASHRAE recommended levels. In one data center evaluated, 30% instantaneous cooling savings were obtained when economizer vents were open. Full report to PG&E here. [Contact: Bill Tschudi]
Laboratories
Metrics and Benchmarks for Energy-Efficient Labs
A wide spectrum of laboratory owners, ranging from universities to federal agencies, are setting explicit goals for energy efficiency in their facilities. For example, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005) requires all new federal buildings to exceed ASHRAE 90.1-2004 1 by at least 30 percent. The University of California Regents Policy requires all new construction to exceed California Title 24 2 by at least 20 percent. Buildings seeking LEED or other “Green” ratings need to hit certain energy efficiency targets. A new laboratory is much more likely to meet and maintain energy efficiency goals if quantitative metrics and targets are explicitly specified in programming documents and tracked during the course of the delivery process and subsequent operation. LBNL has produced a guide to help users specify and compute 47 specific energy efficiency metrics and benchmarks for laboratories, at the whole-building level as well as the system level (ventilation, cooling, heating, process loads, and lighting). Labs21 report here. [Contact: Paul Mathew]
Designing for Realistic Plug-loads in Labs
Laboratory equipment such as autoclaves, glass washers, refrigerators, and computers accounts for a significant portion of total energy use in labs. However, because of the lack of measured equipment load data, lab designers often use estimates based on “nameplate” rated data, or design assumptions from prior projects. Consequently, peak equipment loads are frequently overestimated, which, in turn, results in oversized HVAC systems and correspondingly higher than necessary first costs and ongoing energy use due to the inefficiencies caused by oversizing. LBNL measured peak equipment load data from 39 laboratory spaces in nine buildings across five institutions to help inform the process of rightsizing the design of HVAC systems. These results can be used as a “sanity check” and frame of reference for designers. Results ranged from just over 1 watt per square foot to 10 watts per square foot in biology labs, and up to 4 W/sf in chemistry labs. Smaller labs tending to have higher intensities. The full Labs21 report can be downloaded here. [Contact: Paul Mathew]
LBNL’s Own Molecular Foundry Earns LEED Gold Rating
As described in a previous issue of High-Tech News, LBNL constructed a major 94,500-square-foot facility, containing cleanrooms, labs, and computing spaces. The project recently earned a LEED Gold certification, the first building to do so at LBNL and one of the first high-tech facilities in the country to do so. Thanks to the combination of on-site energy efficiency and purchased renewable power, the facility has a carbon footprint 85% lower than that of a typical facility. The Labs21 program developed a detailed briefing describing the project. Full report here. [Contact: Dale Sartor]
News From the Hood
This department continues the tradition of LBNL’s News From the Hood Newsletter—covering the latest work on the energy efficient Berkeley Fume Hood for laboratory-type facilities—which we are now merging with High-Tech News. Back issues of NFTH can be found here.
Saving Energy with Automatic Fume Hood Sash Closure
LBNL identified an emerging technology for reducing fume-hood energy use by up to 75% through installing an automatic sash closure system on a VAV (variable air volume) hood that is controlled by an occupancy sensor. The strategy was tested in two laboratories at UC Davis. The value of energy saved ranged from $3400 to $4600 per year per hood, including about 2kW of peak demand for hood assuming electric space cooling. The extra cost of implementing the strategy would be paid instantly by downsized HVAC in new construction; for retrofit, the payback time would range from 1 to 4 years, depending on fuels used for heating and cooling and prevailing energy prices. The full report, prepared for PG&E, is available here: [Contact: Dale Sartor]
Cleanrooms
Testing Fan-Filter Units: Sometimes Bigger is Better
Fan-filter units (FFUs) are widely used to re-circulate air and remove particles out of the airflows directed to cleanrooms or minienvironments. FFUs are responsible for a major portion of total cleanroom energy use. LBNL has previously developed test procedures to enable comparison of FFU energy efficiencies, and a wide range in performance has been identified. The latest study looked at seven relatively large units made by various suppliers located in Asia, Europe, and North America and found that energy efficiency can be higher for larger units (compared to 10 smaller units previously tested), depending on operating conditions. Size alone does not guaranty high efficiency. Full report for CEC-PIER here. [Contact: Tim Xu]
Characterizing Minienvironments
A minienvironment is normally used to maintain a level of stringent cleanliness by controlling particle concentrations within a small space, thereby allowing for higher particle counts in surrounding clean environment. If used in this fashion, minienvironments can garner energy savings. Recent LBNL measurements of five in-situ minienvironments found that pressure differentials below 0.2 Pa can be sufficient. Existing standards or guidelines may be higher than necessary, at least in some minienvironment applications, resulting in excessive energy use. Full report for CEC-PIER here. [Contact: Tim Xu]
Recent Publications
For a full list of publications, see here: http://hightech.lbl.gov/library.html
Sartor, D. 2007. "Automatic Fume Hood Sash Closure." Prepared for PG&E. Draft.
US EPA. 2007. Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency : Public Law 109-431. Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ENERGY STAR Program. August 2.
Mathew, P. 2007. "Metrics and Benchmarks for Energy Efficiency in Laboratories." Labs 21 Best Practice Guide. October.
Mathew, P. 2007. "Measured Peak Equipment Loads in Laboratories." Labs 21 Technical Bulletin. September 12.
Mathew, P. and K. Williams. 2007. “LEED for Labs: Review and Outlook.” R&D 2007 Laboratory Design Handbook. LBNL-63190
Amon, D., T. Smith, P. Mathew, and O. VanGeet. 2007. "System Static Pressure Optimization." Labs 21 Best Practices Guide. February. LBNL-63038
Carlisle, N. 2007. Laboratories for the 21st Century: Case Studies - Molecular Foundry, Berkeley, California. Published by Labs21, U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Mathew, P., D. Sartor, G. Bell, and D. Drummond. “Major Energy Efficiency Opportunities in Laboratories – Implications for Health and Safety,” Journal of Chemical Health and Safety, Vol. 14, No. 5, pp 31-39. September/October 2007. LBNL-62185.
Chen, J-J., C-H Lan, M-S. Jeng, and T. Xu. 2007. "The Development of Fan Filter Unit with Flow Rate Feedback Control in a Cleanroom." Building and Environment, 42:3556-3561.
Xu, T. 2007. "Characterization of Minienvironments in a Clean Room: Design Characteristics and Environmental Performance." Building and Environment, 42:2993-3000.
Xu, T., C-H. Lan, and M-S. Jeng. 2007. "Performance of Large Fan-filter Units for Cleanroom Applications." Building and Environment, 42: 2299–2304.
Shehabi, A., W. Tschudi, and A. Gadgil. 2007. "Data Center Economizer Contamination and Humidification Study."
Koomey, J. 2007. "Estimating Total Power Consumption by Servers in the U.S. and the World." (This report was produced by LBNL project scientist Jonathan Koomey as a consulting project for AMD. It is not an LBNL report.)
Ton, M., B. Fortenbery, and W. Tschudi. 2007. "DC Power for Improved Data Center Efficiency," Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Report.
Blazek, M. and J. Koomey. 2006. "Predicting Future Power Requirements for the IT Sector: Making the Case for Including Life-Cycle Implications in Design of Servers." In Proceedings of the IEEE. International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, IEEE.
Xu, T. 2006. "A Study on the Operatieetd.lbl.goon Performance of a Minienvironment System," Journal of the IEST, Vol 49, No 1, pp. 63-71. [download .pdf]
Greenberg, S., W. Tschudi, and J. Weale. 2006. "LBNL Self-Benchmarking Guide for Data Center Energy Performance (Version 1.0)"
The publication of research results within the newsletter does not constitute an endorsement of any particular entity, product, manufacturer, consultant, etc. by LBNL or its sponsors.
Editor: Evan Mills