• What is the definition of a data center or computing room?
• What size of a computing room or data center is worthy of an audit?
• How much does an energy efficiency audit cost?
• How long does it take?
• How much time do you need to spend in our security controlled data center?
• Will you have to hook any equipment up to conduct the audit?
• What is PUE? What is DCiE?
• What training does the SMG Energy Group have?

• Is an energy audit really worth it?
• Are there incentives for implementing recommended energy efficiency improvements?
• Where can businesses find project design assistance to maximize energy and cost savings?
• Should I have an energy management plan in place?

• What can local government do when the energy environment is so volatile and budgets are tight?
• Does the State of California's budget problem mean local governments have less access to energy efficiency programs?
• How do I get support for my energy efficiency project?
• What types of organizations are eligible for statewide and local financial and technical assistance programs?
• What types of projects are eligible for statewide and local financial and technical assistance programs?
• Where do I find the most up-to-date information on building standards included in Title 24?
• Who uses electricity and how?
• What is the difference between energy efficiency and energy conservation?
• Why is energy efficiency important to consumers and businesses?

SMG Energy Group Energy Efficiency Process and Business

What is the definition of a data center or computing room?

A data center is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. It generally includes redundant or backup power supplies, redundant data communications connections, environmental controls (e.g., air conditioning, fire suppression) and security devices.

A data center can occupy one room of a building, one or more floors, or an entire building. Most of the equipment is often in the form of servers mounted in 19 inch rack cabinets, which are usually placed in single rows forming corridors between them. This allows people access to the front and rear of each cabinet.

Servers differ greatly in size from 1U servers to large freestanding storage silos which occupy many tiles on the floor. Some equipment such as mainframe computers and storage devices are often as big as the racks themselves, and are placed alongside them.

Very large data centers may use shipping containers packed with 1,000 or more servers each; when repairs or upgrades are needed, whole containers are replaced (rather than repairing individual servers) Local building codes may govern the minimum ceiling heights

What size of a computing or data center is worthy of an audit?

Any organization with a utility bill of over $200,000 per year likely is a prime candidate. Most medium to large businesses and government agencies and contractors are larger than this description. Average medium/large user pays over $3M in electricity to drive the power & cooling for the data and computing center and the IT equipment and could realize perhaps $1M in savings with an audit and energy efficiency refresh. That's a savings of over $83K per month. In California alone there are over 50,000 public & private offices, companies and institutions. If just 10% of those or 5,000 companies were saving $10K a month that would equate to energy savings of $50M a month and $600M per year or approx. 2% of the gross revenue of PG&E and SCE combined. Moreover, these utilities will rebate the money it costs to refresh the equipment and systems needed to make the savings a reality.

It depends on the size and complexity of the data center, computing equipment, locations and configurations. But a general range is between $15K for a small computing/data center up to $75K or more for a large complex facility. As you can see from the above noted model the audit is essentially no cost as the savings pays for itself many times over.

A comprehensive audit including proper benchmarking and analysis can take between two and four week's time from start to finish.

The time spent in the data center is typically one to two days depending on size and complexity. Key is to get a quality benchmark and baseline in order to calculate PUE, DCiE and other critical metrics. SMG Energy Group uses industry best practices to include either non-invasive methodologies or IT instrumentation as required to meet customer requirements and to achieve accurate measurements.

That is an option but not required. To conduct the audit e use industry and utility approved benchmarking tools, templates and processes. There are various types of audit collecting equipment that can be used to validate energy use especially across individual boxes and systems. This is very helpful and can reduce the audit time in large centers.

The PUE is defined as follows: PUE = Total Facility Power/IT Equipment Power (1) and its reciprocal, the DCiE is defined as:DCiE = 1/PUE = IT Equipment Power/Total Facility Power x 100% (2) For equations 1 and 2, the Total Facility Power is defined as the power measured at the utility meter — the power dedicated solely to the datacenter (this is important in mixed-use buildings that house datacenters as one of a number of consumers of power). The IT Equipment Power is defined as the equipment that is used to manage, process, store, or route data within the data center.

We are certified energy auditors and professional engineers. We have training certifications from the power utilities and independent energy and building management certification agencies. Majority of our team are engineers, energy and network technicians.

Yes. An audit is a low-cost investment that provides customized and cost-effective energy efficiency solutions for your business. Payback typically is quick and the positive cash flow is substantial. If you have utility bills in excess of $200,000 per year, invite SMG Energy Group to do an on-site audit of your facilities. See answer to question #2 above.

Yes. You may be eligible for a reduced interest rate loan or rebates from your utility and other companies for energy efficiency retrofit and new construction projects. Add in the savings on energy costs, and these improvements can easily pay for themselves. SMG Energy Group will help you find and apply the right incentive program for your business.

Utilities and other companies including SMG Energy Group offer technical assistance for various types of retrofit and new construction projects. Assistance includes consultation, classes and resources related to incentive programs, project designs and more to help facilities managers, CIOs, IT chiefs, architects, engineers and building owners find energy-efficient solutions.

Absolutely. By having a plan, a company will be better prepared to make sound decisions regarding the repair or replacement of IT and computing equipment, servers and all related datacenter resources while taking energy and cost effectiveness into consideration. The amount of money saved on energy costs by using energy-efficient technology can be substantial.

While California's cities and counties are bridging the gaps of state and federal cutbacks, local governments should investigate energy efficiency opportunities that lower energy bills regardless of future sources of supply. The challenge is to continue to find creative ways to reduce electricity consumption through energy efficiency upgrades, while also pursuing energy strategies that shop for electricity products and services tailored to the distinct needs of the municipal government and/or its constituents.

California Energy Commission (CEC) created the Energy Partnership Program to help public agencies – local governments, special districts, as well as public or non-profit hospitals, public care facilities, and colleges/universities – use energy more efficiently in their buildings and facilities.

The best way to ensure internal and external support for your energy efficiency project is to prepare a feasibility study. A feasibility study is a technical and economic analysis of potential energy-saving projects in your facility, which:

• Provides information on the current operating characteristics of your energy-using equipment;
• Identifies technically and economically feasible energy efficiency improvements for existing equipment;
• Supports your facility's financial requests for projects; and
• Provides your decision-makers with sufficient and accurate information to judge the merits of the recommended energy projects.
• Refer to the California Energy Commission's (CEC) Guide to Preparing Feasibility Studies for Energy Efficiency Projects on the www.energy.ca.gov
  

Eligible public buildings and institutions include:

• Schools (public or nonprofit)
• Hospitals (public or nonprofit)
• Cities
• Counties
• Special districts
• Public care institutions (public or nonprofit)
  

Many projects that improve energy efficiency in public buildings are eligible, including:

• Energy audits
• Feasibility studies
• Lighting upgrades
• Motors or variable frequency drives and pumps upgrades
• Building insulation installation
• Heating and air conditioning modifications
• Automated energy management systems/controls installation
• Energy generation including renewable energy projects
• Streetlights/light-emitting diode (LED) traffic signals installation
  

You can find the complete Title 24 manual and other Title 24 resources for building professionals at the California Energy Commission (CEC) web site.

Electricity in California is consumed by four primary sectors: commercial (including institutional facilities), industrial, agricultural and residential.

Source: California Energy Commission, " California Energy Demand 2003-2013 Forecast"

Very simply, energy conservation is changing your behavior in order to save energy (and money). An example is turning off the lights. Energy efficiency means installing appliances, equipment, systems, tools or lighting that uses less energy and manages energy. An example is replacing a dated server, switch, storage system, instrumentation and other boxes and systems that have inefficient power conversion power supplies and designs to an incandescent light bulb with an energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), which uses at least 66% less energy for the same lighting level. Conservation measures are no-cost, and efficiency measures can be low-cost or can require a significant investment (which is very often cost-effective when you consider the reduced energy bills).

Both energy conservation and efficiency measures help you reduce energy use, energy bills, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

There are many reasons, including:

Save money now and in the future.

Energy-efficient products use less energy to operate. Your savings grow over time, often paying back their initial cost – and oftentimes much more.

Companies that invest in cost-effective energy-efficient products and services can lower their electric bills and enhance corporate profitability. Investments in efficiency technologies typically have a payback period of 1 to 5 years.

Consumers and businesses can also lower the upfront cost of buying energy-efficient products by taking advantage of rebates and other incentives available through your utility company, water agency and other organizations. SMG Energy Group manages the energy audit and rebate measurements, process and solutions for customers.

Help protect the environment.

Climate change is driven in large part by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases derived from burning fossil fuels. In California, electricity production and industry are the source of nearly half of fossil fuel-related carbon dioxide. Other harmful emissions released by burning fossil fuels to produce electricity include sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide, two of the primary sources of smog. Energy efficiency helps reduce the need to generate electricity.

Help enhance the economy.

Energy efficiency results in lower energy bills, which enable consumers to invest their money in other areas. In 2009, U.S. consumers and businesses spent more than $800 billion for total energy use (electricity, natural gas and gasoline). Had the nation not dramatically reduced its energy intensity over the previous 27 years, they would have spent at least $430 billion more on energy purchases in 2000.

Help promote energy security.

Energy efficiency helps ensure that California has stable and reliable electricity service by making the system less vulnerable to electricity supply shortages. California relies on natural gas and hydroelectric generation plants (primarily in the Pacific Northwest) for more than half of its electricity. Neither source is very reliable. Energy efficiency improvements reduce overall demand and, more important for reliability, shave demand at peak hours – those hours when energy demand is highest and blackouts are likely to occur if supply is low.

Energy efficiency also enhances electric system reliability by reducing the amount of electricity that has to be transported across congested transmission and distribution lines.