U.S. DGS 12 data centers adopt RFID sensor system to reduce power consumption
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Currently, the California Department of General Services (DGS) implements an RFID temperature control system for 12 data centers in the state, hoping to reduce the power consumption of the centers. The California State Revenue Service installed the same system in 2008, reducing the power consumption of the tax bureau’s data center from 59 kilowatts to 15 kilowatts. At the same time, with funding and sponsorship from the US Department of Energy, California will continue to install this system in other government data centers. The Data Automation Software Hardware (DASH) system was designed and installed by Federspiel Controls, using Dust Networks 900 MHz active RFID tags and readers.
In order to ensure that the hottest server in the center is sufficiently cooled, the staff in the data center is used to setting the temperature of the refrigeration equipment to an extremely low level, but this measure is often a waste of electricity.
After adopting the RFID temperature control system in the data center of the State Taxation Bureau in 2008, Federspiel has installed temperature sensors connected to RFID tags for the data centers of four other government agencies, and another eight are still in progress, including the California Department of State. Ministry of Transport and Health Services. In each application, the temperature probe of the system sensor module is wired to Dust Networks’ active 900 MHz RFID tag using a proprietary air interface protocol. The sensor module is pasted on the shelf of the data center by using Velcro (a kind of Velcro fastener, which can be glued when touched on both sides and separated by pulling it). The probe detects the temperature, and the RFID tag sends the temperature data to a reader. Tags are often used as information transmission media, such as receiving data from neighboring tags, and then forwarding the information to the nearby tags until it reaches the reader. If one of the sensor tags fails, the network will “self-heal” and continue to send information from surrounding tags. The reader acts as a wireless gateway to receive temperature data, and send the data to the designated server software of the back-end system of the data center through an Ethernet connection.
Data Center Sensor Distribution Plan of the Tax Bureau
In addition to implementing the RFID system, the tax bureau’s data center also rearranged floor tiles to improve air-conditioning distribution, and installed flexible curtains to block the hot air passage of the servers, said Jim Durborough, senior information systems analyst and data center manager at the tax bureau.
RFID sensor tags installed on servers and brackets
Flexible curtains block the hot air passage of the server
In the RFID application part, Federspiel Controls installed wireless temperature sensor modules in a data center with an area of 10,000 square feet in the tax bureau. Each module contains two thermistors, one installed on the top of the server rack and the other on the bottom. Twelve 22-ton air handling equipment (using cold water to cool the air) in the center are also equipped with sensor modules. A total of 23 sensor modules are used in the center, with a total of 46 temperature measurement points. In conjunction with the sensor, the center also uses a variable frequency drive for the refrigerator to control the speed of the fan and the speed of the water flowing into the cooler.
Control software interface
The center uses a variable frequency drive for the refrigerator
If the sensor detects that the temperature in a certain place exceeds the acceptable limit, the Federspiel Controls software will make a reaction judgment based on the measured temperature at that point and the position of the label, such as increasing the fan speed or cold water flow speed of a particular refrigerator. The system then instructs the variable frequency drive of the refrigerator to adjust the settings. The software will also alert employees of changes in related settings so that they can continue to monitor whether the temperature has dropped due to the changes in settings.
“Due to the success of this application, we began to apply this system in the DGS data center,” said Mark Housley, CEO of Federspiel Controls. At the end of 2009, Federspiel proposed to install DASH systems in 12 data centers, and it is expected that these centers will be installed by the end of this year.
Different data centers have different actual application scenarios. This requires Federspiel to design solutions specifically. According to Housley, “the data center is always in operation, and we must think carefully before installing it.” Since different data centers have different physical layouts, the company must determine the best label application location to achieve the most effective temperature data collection for the entire center. And determine whether the software responds to temperature changes, such as automatically adjusting the fan speed or water flow, or notifying employees, allowing them to manually modify the settings of the refrigerator or other equipment.
Most centers will use 50-200 sensor modules, Housley said. The tag can also be connected to other sensors, such as air pressure, humidity or water flow measuring sensors. Federspiel configures the frequency of tag signal transmission.
Housley said that he expects that the use of this system will reduce the power consumption of the data center by 75%. This project is expected to save the tax bureau an annual electricity bill of $42,700.
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