Data centers require large amounts of energy to operate and we know that the push now is to reduce the use of data center energy usage — green initiatives, we hear about them everyday. Additional encouragement is coming from utilities throughout the United States in the form of data center energy efficiency rebates and incentives. As a matter of fact, I was at a recent data center function and was speaking to a person that runs the local utility’s program manager for commercial & industrial energy efficiency group and he said he literally has "tons of money he needs to give away in the form of data center energy incentives by the end of the year".
Typically, data center energy efficiency programs focus on new construction, retrofitting the current environment, or optimization of the equipment in the data center. They encourage everything from server consolidation projects to energy efficiency “refreshes,” such as installing more efficient servers, power and cooling technology.
There are many different types of incentives and rebates available from local utilities and state energy efficiency programs, so make sure you do your homework to see if your energy savings initiatives are eligible for the rebates/incentives.
According to Forrester Research — Government bodies and an increasing number of utilities have mechanisms in place that encourage business engagement in more environmentally sustainable behaviors. These mechanisms typically take on one of three forms: arbitrage, incentives, or penalties. Forrester recommends IT leaders get up to speed on the mechanisms available in their region, since the financial implications — both cost avoidance and savings — can be compelling and further improve the return on investment from green initiatives. Because incentive programs vary widely depending on your location of operation (e.g., state), a great starting point is to call your local utility provider and government representative.
At EEC, we have a few recent projects that qualified for data center energy incentives from the utility. At one such job, we installed 13 ultrasonic humidifiers at a customer’s data center – the customer worked with their local utility and is receiving $47,000.00 from the utility in the form of a rebate based on the energy savings they will receive from the humidifiers.
Another project we worked on – our customer was looking to improve their data center’s cooling efficiency as well as their current systems capacity. We worked closely with them and recommended the Demand Based Cooling (DBC) airflow and thermal management system from AdaptivCool. Here is a summary of the project:
- Cost of project: $144,000.00
- Estimated annual savings: 600,000 kWh
- Estimated energy cost savings: $96,000.00/yr
- Utility incentive: $21,500.00
- Company payback: 16 months (with utility incentive)
Click here to take a look at the case study where you can see all of the details of the project.
We have also worked with other customers to replace old, worn-out equipment such as CRAC's and UPS systems with new, high-efficiency units. These can, in some areas, qualify for an incentive or rebate.
Don’t wait, who knows when the utilities may run out of that “tons of money”. You can take a look at our Data Center Energy Efficiency Solutions here, or speak with one of our data center experts. Not only will you save energy from implementing one of these energy efficient solutions — you may also be eligible for a utiltity rebate or incentive.
9/25 - update to this post: I just had a comment on LinkedIn regarding this blog post with some great information:
We refer interested clients to visit the http://www.dsireusa.org/ "DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, federal, local, and utility incentives and policies that support renewable energy and energy efficiency. Established in 1995 and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, DSIRE is an ongoing project of the North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc."
no affilation to products just database of resources available to users.
Commented by Randall Lejeune from e-Systems Group - Many thanks to Randall.
