This document discusses NREL's efforts to operate green and sustainable data centers. It provides an overview of NREL as a national laboratory dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency. It then describes NREL's data centers which are highly energy efficient, use green design features like daylighting and waste heat reuse, and have achieved world-class energy performance ratings. The document advocates taking a holistic, systems-level approach to green data center design and operation.

1. What’s the Green Behind
Data Centers?
Nextgov Prime
December 3, 2012
Dr. Dan E. Arvizu
Laboratory Director
NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

2. NREL, An Early Adopter in Sustainability
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3. Laboratory Snapshot
Only National Laboratory Dedicated
Solely to Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy
• Leading clean-energy innovation for 35 years
• 2540 employees with world-class facilities
• Campus is a living model of sustainable
energy
• Owned by the Department of Energy
• Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable
Energy

4. Scope of Mission
Energy Renewable Systems Market
Efficiency Energy Integration Focus
Residential Solar Grid Private Industry
Buildings Infrastructure
Wind and Federal
Commercial Water Distributed Agencies
Buildings Energy
Biomass Defense Dept.
Interconnection
Personal
Hydrogen State/Local
and Battery and
Govt.
Commercial Geothermal Thermal
Vehicles Storage International
Transportation

5. Focus on Buildings
National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future

6. DOE Labs Focused on Green IT
Leadership
Power Usage
Effectiveness <1.3
=
World Class
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7. The Path to Net Zero Energy—
Research Support Facility
Green Data Center
Presentation Title

8. Key Design Features
• Fully daylit office wings
• Continuous insulation precast wall panels
with thermal mass
• Radiant heating and cooling
• Outdoor air preheating
• Transpired solar collector
• Datacenter waste heat
• Crawl space thermal storage
• Aggressive plug load control strategies
• Data center air-side economizer, hot aisle
containment
• Roof top and parking structure-based PV
http://www.nrel.gov/news/rsfnews/awards.html

9. RSF’s Green Data Center
• Enterprise data center serves entire Lab.
• Highly energy efficiency (1.14 PUE)
• Won national award—White House Green
Gov FY 2011
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10. Energy System Integration Facility (ESIF)
LEED Platinum Building
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11. NREL ESIF Data Center/HPC Cross Section
– Tour views into pump room and mechanical spaces
– Reveal the inner workings of the building
– Color code pipes, LCD monitors
– World class P.U.E. 1.06
– Energy savings of $1M/year

12. Take a Holistic Approach to Green
Cooling
• Manage Your Hot Air.
• Minimize Fans.
• Move to Warm Water Liquid
Cooling.
• Liquid 1000x more efficient
Power than air for cooling. Re-Use
• Make efficiency part of • Capture and use the
acquisition strategy. waste heat.
• Minimize conversions and • Warm water is a
associated losses. valuable by product.
• High Voltage Distribution.
Green
Data
Center
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13. Our Approach….
• Establish an organizational
commitment to
sustainability
• Think systems level,
campus-wide optimization
• Align corporate function to
coordinate IT equipment
purchasing, how it is
managed and operated, and
the facility infrastructure
that provides the power
cooling
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14. Visit us online at www.nrel.gov
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