Wizard - RenewIT Tool

GENERAL INFORMATION

This calculation tool will help you to evaluate the feasability of integrating energy saving measures and renewable energy into your Data Centre.
The first step is entering some general information about location and financial assumptions.

Data Centre characteristics

Data Centre location

Selected Data Centre locationThe meteorological properties used are for the specific location selectedi Please select location from the map.

Electricity cost [€/kWh]Cost of electricity (peak and off-peak hours) based on EUROSTAT values excluding VAT $ any exemptionsi(0 - 0.5)

Peak hours

Off-peak hours

Grid renewable energy ratio [%]The percentage of renewable energy in the national electricity gridi

ADVANCED OPTIONS

Grid primary energy factor [kWh_PE/kWh_El]Primary non-renewable energy factor for the grid electricity. This factor is unique for each country in function of the energy mix of the grid. It is used to calculate the total non-renewable primary energy consumption of the Data Centre.i(0 - 2.7)

Electricity CO₂ emission [kg CO₂/kWh_El]Emission of CO₂ per energy consumedi
(0 - 1)

Consider CO₂ emissions costTake the cost of the CO₂ emissions into considerationi

CO₂ emissions cost [€/tCO₂]Price of the tonne of CO₂ emissionsi(0 - 100)

It Infrastructure

In the second step please enter the characteristics of the IT in the Data Centre and if green algorithms in terms of allocation and consolidation are applied to the infrastructure

IT load profileKind of IT workloadi

Maximum IT power [kW_IT]Expected maximum IT power consumption that the installation can have. Together with the oversizing safety margin will define the total IT installed capacity that can be supported (powered and cooled) by the infrastructurei(100 - 5000)

Oversizing safety marginThe oversizing safety margin defines the ratio between the total installed IT capacity and the maximum IT power consumption. The resulting extra capacity is to cover either an unexpected addition to the IT load or an unexpected impairment of the component capacityi(1 - 1.3)

OccupancyThe occupancy ratio in terms of installed IT capacity. Lack of occupancy is a lack of IT equipmenti(0.5 - 1)

Average rack density [kW/rack]Rack average power. It is used to calculate the whitespace areai(2 - 10)

Green Algorithms

The use of green management algorithms, such as consolidation and turning off the idle servers, to minimize the overall energy consumption. Notice that to turn off the idle servers, the consolidation strategy should first be selected

ConsolidationThe objective of this strategy is to allocate the virtual machines, necessaries to satisfy the IT workload demand, in the minimum number of servers. Therefore some servers are working at full load and the rest are kept in an idle state.i

Turn off the idle serversIt is a complementary strategy to the consolidation method, where the servers that are not being used are turned off, instead of being in an idle state.i

Power and Cooling Systems

Please select one of the pre-defined systems below. The systems represent complete power and cooling systems using renewable energy sources and energy efficiency technologies.

Conventional system

The electrical power is purchased from the national grid
The cooling is provided by vapour-compression chillers along with dry coolers and CRAHs units are used to distribute the chilled air
Efficient thermal energy strategies that can be also applied to the system:

Free coolingIndirect air free cooling strategy is implementedi Hot or cold aisle containment System used to isolate hot aisles and cold aisles from each other and prevent air inefficiencies such as bypass and recirculationi Use of high energy efficiency componentsComponents with higher energy efficiency than state of the art are being usedi

Redundancy information:

Electrical redundancy: 2N, Thermal redundancy:N+1 CRAH, VCCH and Dry coolers and 2N Pumps.

District cooling and heat reuse

The electrical power is purchased from the national grid
The Data Centre is connected to the district cooling network (for air cooled equipment) and CRAHs units are used to distribute the chilled air. Additionally, there is also liquid cooling technology (to be selected by the user).
Additionally, heat from direct liquid cooling is reused for district heating using a heat pump. A dry cooler could be used if there is no heat reuse demand.

Type of liquid cooling technology:Type of liquid cooling technology: on-chip server cooling or immersed racks i

Heat pump sizeIt is the ratio between the heat pump cooling power and the maximum liquid cooling demand of the data centre i(0.1 - 0.5)

The following energy efficiency strategies are already applied in the scheme:

Free coolingIndirect air free cooling strategy is implementedi Hot or cold aisle containment System used to isolate hot aisles and cold aisles from each other and prevent air inefficiencies such as bypass and recirculationi Use of high energy efficiency componentsComponents with higher energy efficiency than state of the art are being usedi

Redundancy information:

Electrical redundancy: 2N, Thermal redundancy:N+1 CRAH and Dry coolers, N VCCH and 2N Pumps.

ADVANCED OPTIONS

District cooling non renewable PEF [-]Primary non-renewable energy factor for the district cooling network. This factor is unique for each district cooling in function of the energy sources and equipment used to generate the cold. It is used to calculate the total non-renewable primary energy consumption of the Data Centre i
(0 - 2.7)

District cooling total PEF [-]Total primary energy factor for the district cooling network. This factor is unique for each district cooling in function of the energy sources and equipment used to generate the cold. It is used to calculate the total primary energy consumption of the Data Centrei
(0 - 3)

District cooling CO₂ PEF [kg CO₂/ kWh]Emission of CO2 per energy consumed from the district coolingi
(0 - 1)

District heating non renewable PEF [-]Primary non-renewable energy factor for the district heating network. This factor is unique for each district heating in function of the energy sources and equipment used to generate the heat. It is used to calculate the total non-renewable primary energy consumption of the Data Centre i
(0 - 2.7)

District heating total PEF [-]Total primary energy factor for the district heating network. This factor is unique for each district heating in function of the energy sources and equipment used to generate the heat. It is used to calculate the total primary energy consumption of the Data Centre i
(0 - 3)

District heating CO₂ PEF [kg CO₂/ kWh]Emission of CO2 per energy consumed from the district heatingi
(0 - 1)

Wet cooling tower

The electrical power is purchased from the national grid
The cooling is provided by wet cooling towers (without chillers) and distributed by CRAHs units
Vapour-compression chillers are used when evaporative free cooling is not feasible
The following energy efficiency strategies are already applied in the scheme:

Free coolingDirect air free cooling strategy is implementedi Hot or cold aisle containment System used to isolate hot aisles and cold aisles from each other and prevent air inefficiencies such as bypass and recirculationi Use of high energy efficiency componentsComponents with higher energy efficiency than state of the art are being usedi

Redundancy information:

Electrical redundancy: 2N, Thermal redundancy:N+1 CRAH, VCCH, Wet cooling towers and 2N Pumps.

Thermal and electrical energy storage

The electrical power is purchased from the national grid
The cooling is provided by vapour-compression chillers along with dry coolers and CRAHs units are used to distribute the chilled air
Thermal and Electrical storage systems are implemented to ensure efficient and secure energy management

TES VolumeThermal Energy Storage (TES) is sized according to the additional volume that will be installed respect to the initial volume or storage hours (Default storage hours: 3 hours, Range: 3 to 43 hours ). i(0 - 1)

EES CapacityElectrical Energy Storage (EES) is sized according to the additional capacity that will be installed respect to the initial size of the battery or initial backup time (Default backup time: 0.5 hours, Range: 0.5 to 6 hours ).i(0 - 1)

The following energy efficiency strategies are already applied in the scheme:

Free coolingIndirect air free cooling strategy is implementedi Hot or cold aisle containment System used to isolate hot aisles and cold aisles from each other and prevent air inefficiencies such as bypass and recirculationi Use of high energy efficiency componentsComponents with higher energy efficiency than state of the art are being usedi

Redundancy information:

Electrical redundancy: 2N, Thermal redundancy:N+1 CRAH, VCCH, Wet cooling towers and 2N Pumps.

Biogas fuel cell and absorption chiller

The electrical power is generated by the biogas-fed fuel cell
The cooling is provided by driving an absorption chillers using the exhaust heat from the fuel cell. The chilled air is distributed by CRAHs units
The waste heat can be then recovered for space heating or might also be dissipated by a wet cooling tower

Absorption chiller sizeSize of the absorption chiller relative to the total cooling power of Data Centrei(0.1 - 0.5)

Percentage of heat reuseRatio of the heat generated by the fuel cell that will be reusedi(0.1 - 1)

The following energy efficiency strategies are already applied in the scheme:

Free coolingIndirect air free cooling strategy is implementedi Hot or cold aisle containment System used to isolate hot aisles and cold aisles from each other and prevent air inefficiencies such as bypass and recirculationi Use of high energy efficiency componentsComponents with higher energy efficiency than state of the art are being usedi

Redundancy information:

Electrical redundancy: 2N, Thermal redundancy:N+1 CRAH and VCCH,N+2 Wet cooling towers and 2N Pumps.

Reciprocating engine CHP with biogas

The electrical power is generated by the biogas-fed tri-generation by means of a reciprocating engine CHP plant
The cooling is provided by driving a single-effect absorption chillers using the exhaust heat from the CHP. The chilled air is distributed by CRAHs units
The waste heat can be recovered for space heating for offices or buildings near the Data Centre

Absorption chiller sizeSize of the absorption chiller relative to the total cooling power of Data Centrei(0.1 - 0.5)

Percentage of heat reuseRatio of the heat generated by the CHP that will be reusedi(0.1 - 1)

The following energy efficiency strategies are already applied in the scheme:

Free coolingIndirect air free cooling strategy is implementedi Hot or cold aisle containment System used to isolate hot aisles and cold aisles from each other and prevent air inefficiencies such as bypass and recirculationi Use of high energy efficiency componentsComponents with higher energy efficiency than state of the art are being usedi

Redundancy information:

Electrical redundancy: 2N, Thermal redundancy:N+1 CRAH and VCCH,N+2 Wet cooling towers and 2N Pumps.

Redundancy level

Concept	Electrical Redundancy	Thermal Redundancy
Conventional System	2N	N+1 CRAH, VCCH and Dry coolers and 2N Pumps
District cooling and heat reuse	2N	N+1 CRAH and Dry coolers, N VCCH and 2N Pumps
Wet cooling tower	2N	N+1 CRAH, VCCH, Wet cooling towers and 2N Pumps
Thermal and electrical energy storage	2N	N+1 CRAH, VCCH, Wet cooling towers and 2N Pumps
Biogas Fuel Cell	2N	N+1 CRAH and VCCH, N+2 Wet cooling towers and 2N Pumps
Reciprocating engine CHP with biogas	2N	N+1 CRAH and VCCH, N+2 Wet cooling towers and 2N Pumps

Legend:
CRAH: Computer Room Air Handling
VCCH: Vapour Compression chiller

ENERGY CHARACTERIZATION

Select which of the advanced energy efficiency strategies and renewables the Data Centre incorporates.

Electrical energy efficiency strategies

This section covers the different ways that the UPS could be used to increase the efficiency.

Select the UPS type:

Standard UPS

Modular UPSThe UPS is divided in smaller UPS in order to enhance the overall efficiencyi

UPS in Eco-modeThe load is supplied directly from the utilityi

Thermal energy efficiency strategies

This section defines different thermal energy efficiency strategies implementation in the Data Centre.

Inlet air temperature [°C]Desired supply air temperature in whitespacei(18 - 27)

Increase the whitespace temperature difference Increase the air temperature difference in the whitespace by reducing the air flow rate. This strategy just has sense if correct air management is expected. If the strategy is not selected the design temperature difference between the return and supply air temperature is 7 ºC while if it is selected is 15 ºCi

Variable air flowThe CRAH fans operate under variable velocityi

Renewable energy sources

This section asks for PV and/or Wind energy implementation.

Solar power (PV)The Data Centre will incorporate an on-site photovoltaic (PV) installationi

PV installed peak power [kWp]The nominal power (nameplate capacity) of the PV systemi(0 - 5 000)

Or

Area available for PV [m²]Maximum area available for PV in [m²] (i.e. roof area). It is function of the location selected due to shading calculations.i(0 - PV plant max area)

PV plant max available area [m²]Maximum available area in [m²], for the PV plant, for the selected locationi

Wind powerThe Data Centre will incorporate on-site wind turbinesi

Turbine sizeSmall size = 50kW and medium size = 600kWi

Number of wind turbinesThe number of on-site wind turbines installedi(0 - 100)

Total wind power [kW]The nominal power (nameplate capacity) of the wind system. This value is automatically calculatedi(0 - 5 000)

Weibull parameter k

Weibull parameter c

Wind speed [m/s]Wind speed based on the selected locationi(1.5 - 8.2)

SELECTED OPTIONS

Location

Change

IT power capacity

Change

Concept

Change

Assessment period [years] Timeframe of the data centre used to do the economic analysisi(1 - 15)

OTHER OPTIONS

General information

Electricity cost (peak hours)
Electricity cost (off-peak hours)
Grid RER
Assessment period
Grid PEF
Electricity CO2 emission
CO2 emissions cost

Change

IT characterization

IT load profile
Occupancy
IT safety margin factor
Average rack density

Electrical and cooling concept

Change

No parameters available for the selected electrical and cooling concept

Energy characterization

Desired inlet temperature
No advanced electrical, thermal concept or renewable energy source selected

Change

RESULTS

edit this scenario reset form

SELECTED OPTIONS

Location

IT power capacity

Electrical and cooling concept

ABSOLUTE RESULTS

ENERGY USE

Non-renewable primary energyThe non-renewable primary energy means energy from non-renewable sources which has not undergone any conversion or transformation process.i

0 MWh/year

Normalized primary energyThe annual non-renewable primary energy per kilowatt IT is the normalized annual consumption of non-renewable primary energy by the IT power capacity of the installation.i

0 MWh/kW_ITyear

ECONOMIC FIGURES

TCO Total cost of ownership. It is the aggregated value of the capital cost, energy costs and non-energy operating costs.i 0 Thousands of €

CAPEX Capital expenditures divided by the IT power capacity. It includes the material and installation costs of the power and cooling components as well as the cost of the building.i 0 €/kW_IT

OPEX Annual operational expenditures divided by the IT power capacity. It includes the energy cost for all the energy sources, the maintenance costs and the cost of the CO2 emissions. If it is negative means that the Data Centre operator is earning money.i 0 €/kW_ITyear

CAPACITY ANALYSIS

The space capacity credit (Space) measures the occupied space in the whitespace.
The IT installed capacity credit (IT) defines the unused IT capacity and it’s calculated as the relation between the actual IT peak power of the system and the maximum IT peak power that the installation can handle.
The total facility installed capacity credit (Facility) defines the available capacity of the facility. It’s calculated as the ratio between the actual facility peak power and the maximum facility peak power that the installation can handle.i

ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY

Power usage effectiveness (PUE)

The annual average PUE is calculated as the total primary energy consumption of the Data Centre divided by the primary energy delivered to the IT equipment.i

Cooling seasonal performance factor (SPF)

The SPF calculates the relation between the cooling energy produced and the amount of electrical energy consumed to produce it, showing the efficiency of the cooling system.i

Renewable energy ratio (RER)

The RER allows calculating the share of renewable energy use in the Data Centre, including renewable energy in the grid. It is calculated relative to all energy use in the Data Centre, in terms of total primary energy.i

RELATIVE RESULTS

“The current Data Centre configuration is compared in this section with a conventional Data Centre without any advanced energy efficiency measures with same boundary conditions in terms of location, IT power, occupancy, etc.”

PRIMARY ENERGY SAVINGS

The fractional energy savings (shows the savings achieved on the non-renewable primary energy consumption by a technical solution, and the energy efficiency measures taken, compared to a conventional Data Centre.i

Equivalent to houses consumptionThis indicator shows the equivalent residential houses that can be energetically satisfied with the savings achieved on the non-renewable primary energy consumption or with the electricity sold to the grid by a technical solution, and a set of energy efficiency measures, respect to a conventional Data Centrei

0houses

TCO SAVINGS

The fractional economic savings shows the savings achieved on the total cost of ownership by a technical solution, and the energy efficiency measures taken, compared to a conventional Data Centre.i

Savings in OPEXThis value shows the annual reduction in the operational expenditures achieved by the concept, and the energy efficiency measures taken, compared to a conventional Data Centre. The value is normalized by the IT power capacity of the installation. If it is negative means money earned by the Data Centre owner and not savings on OPEX.i

0€/kW_ITyear

PAYBACK PERIOD

This scenario is not economical feasible

This scenario is economically feasible

Payback periodIt is defined as the length of time, expressed in years, needed for an investment's net cash receipts to cover completely the initial outlay expended in acquiring the investment. It is related to the assessment period input.i

0years

ADVANCED RESULTS

CO₂ EMISSIONS SAVINGS

0 tCO₂/year This metric measure the annual savings achieved on the CO₂ emissions by the technical solution, and advanced concepts applied, compared to a conventional Data Centre. The weighting factor used are the CO₂ emission coefficient which is the quantity of CO₂ emitted to the atmosphere per unit of energy, for a given energy carrier.i

FREE COOLING HOURS

0 hours/year Free cooling Hours i

NET IMPORT ENERGY

0 MWh/year The net import electricity energy is the difference between imported (from the grid) and exported (to the grid) electrical energy. Therefore measure the annual quantity of electrical energy that is consumed from the grid.i

RELATIVE RESULTS COMPARISON

This section allows comparing two scenarios already introduced by the user between each other. The Reference Data Centre is the REFERENCE facility.
Therefore, the results from Desired Data Centre are compared relatively to the ones from the reference system.

Reference Data Centre

Primary energy 0 MWh/year

TCO 0 Thousands of €

CAPEX 0 Thousands of €

OPEX 0 Thousands of €

Desired Data Centre

Primary energy 0 MWh/year

TCO 0 Thousands of €

CAPEX 0 Thousands of €

OPEX 0 Thousands of €

Primary energy savings

Equivalent to houses consumption

0houses

TCO savings

Savings in OPEX per year

0€/year

Renewable energy ratio

RER Reference Data Centre 0 %

RER Desired Data Centre 0 %

GENERAL INFORMATION

Data Centre characteristics

ADVANCED OPTIONS

It Infrastructure

Green Algorithms

Power and Cooling Systems

ADVANCED OPTIONS

ENERGY CHARACTERIZATION

Electrical energy efficiency strategies

Thermal energy efficiency strategies

Renewable energy sources

SELECTED OPTIONS

OTHER OPTIONS

RESULTS

Non-renewable primary energyThe non-renewable primary energy means energy from non-renewable sources which has not undergone any conversion or transformation process.i

Normalized primary energyThe annual non-renewable primary energy per kilowatt IT is the normalized annual consumption of non-renewable primary energy by the IT power capacity of the installation.i

“The current Data Centre configuration is compared in this section with a conventional Data Centre without any advanced energy efficiency measures with same boundary conditions in terms of location, IT power, occupancy, etc.”

Payback periodIt is defined as the length of time, expressed in years, needed for an investment's net cash receipts to cover completely the initial outlay expended in acquiring the investment. It is related to the assessment period input.i

ADVANCED RESULTS

Non-renewable primary energyThe graphic shows the scenarios sorted from lower to higher non-renewable primary energy consumption. The lower the non-renewable primary energy consumption, the closer the net zero energy Data Centre.i

This section allows comparing two scenarios already introduced by the user between each other. The Reference Data Centre is the REFERENCE facility.
Therefore, the results from Desired Data Centre are compared relatively to the ones from the reference system.

Primary energy savings

Equivalent to houses consumption

TCO savings

Savings in OPEX per year

Renewable energy ratio

ALL SELECTED OPTIONS

GENERAL INFORMATION

Data Centre characteristics

ADVANCED OPTIONS

It Infrastructure

Green Algorithms

Power and Cooling Systems

ADVANCED OPTIONS

ENERGY CHARACTERIZATION

Electrical energy efficiency strategies

Thermal energy efficiency strategies

Renewable energy sources

SELECTED OPTIONS

OTHER OPTIONS

RESULTS

Non-renewable primary energyThe non-renewable primary energy means energy from non-renewable sources which has not undergone any conversion or transformation process.i

Normalized primary energyThe annual non-renewable primary energy per kilowatt IT is the normalized annual consumption of non-renewable primary energy by the IT power capacity of the installation.i

“The current Data Centre configuration is compared in this section with a conventional Data Centre without any advanced energy efficiency measures with same boundary conditions in terms of location, IT power, occupancy, etc.”

Payback periodIt is defined as the length of time, expressed in years, needed for an investment's net cash receipts to cover completely the initial outlay expended in acquiring the investment. It is related to the assessment period input.i

ADVANCED RESULTS

Non-renewable primary energyThe graphic shows the scenarios sorted from lower to higher non-renewable primary energy consumption. The lower the non-renewable primary energy consumption, the closer the net zero energy Data Centre.i

This section allows comparing two scenarios already introduced by the user between each other. The Reference Data Centre is the REFERENCE facility. Therefore, the results from Desired Data Centre are compared relatively to the ones from the reference system.

Primary energy savings

Equivalent to houses consumption

TCO savings

Savings in OPEX per year

Renewable energy ratio

ALL SELECTED OPTIONS

Export in pdf

This section allows comparing two scenarios already introduced by the user between each other. The Reference Data Centre is the REFERENCE facility.
Therefore, the results from Desired Data Centre are compared relatively to the ones from the reference system.