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EEC's Data Center & Telecom Insight Blog
How Utility Incentives Can Affect Your
Equipment Upgrade Decisions
Posted by Chris Parlee on Mar 24, 2016
Previously a featured article on AFCOM's Inside The Box, February 2, 2016.
Written by Daniel Bodenski, PE, LEED AP, Director of Strategic Solutions at EEC
Growing capacity needs and big competition in the cloud and colocation markets are
causing equipment efficiency and energy costs to once again be top-of-mind for data center
owners, operators and even information technology teams. Today, a primary factor limiting
data center capacity is the ability to quickly and cost-effectively accommodate growing
power requirements. Furthermore, the capability to do so while maintaining a low PUE and
high-energy efficiency is critical for the growth and competitive advantage of data center
providers. Operating at a low Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) is key - and largely
dependent on data centers’ critical infrastructure equipment.
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2. To help meet growing capacity needs, data centers are looking to third-party preventive
maintenance providers who, together with their utility partners, can offer integrated solutions
and incentive programs that can reduce costs and positively impact equipment replacement
or upgrade decisions.
Equipment Affects Efficiency
Built to run 7x24x365, most data center equipment has a life expectancy of approximately
10 to 15 years. Equipment parts, however, have a much more limited lifespan. Proper
equipment maintenance, or lack thereof, can have a profound impact on lifecycles and data
center operations, posing a threat to reliability, uptime and efficiency through increased
service and repair. For example, older Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) units tend to
operate at 10 percent less efficiency than their newer counterparts.
Technology advancements have had dramatic effects on equipment. In cooling equipment,
for example, the introduction of variable speed fan motor drives, Electronically Commutated
(EC) fan motors, and digital scroll compressors have resulted in increased efficiencies.
Modern UPS equipment also features "econo-modes,” which allow them to run in bypass
mode within a normal operation and switch to online mode if a fluctuation in power occurs.
Even with these features, UPS units in service for 10 years will likely require most parts, if
not the entire unit, to be replaced.
Energy Incentive Programs
A preventive maintenance program is critical to ensuring maximum uptime and efficiency in
a data center. In addition to helping users know exactly when to upgrade or replace
equipment through continuous efficiency, reliability and site uptime analysis, they can also
identify predictive signs of failure such as capacity leakage or high motor amperage. These
efficiency-focused equipment projects are usually eligible for utility incentives, yielding
operating cost reductions and in many cases, actually being largely funded by the utility.
According to the Data Center User’s Group, only 36
percent of data center managers received an energy
rebate from their utility provider last year. The EEC team
is comprised of seasoned experts that can help
customers discover and utilize rebates of which they may
not have been previously aware. Con Edison, National

3. Grid and NSTAR are three utilities that maintain strategic
alliances with preventive maintenance providers to offer data center energy incentive
programs. Con Edison incentives range from the partial funding of energy efficiency
studies, to off-setting the costs of energy-saving IT measures such as server / desktop
virtualization, UPS / PDU upgrades, Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) / Computer
Room Air Handler (CRAH) replacement, and airflow optimization. National Grid offers
incentives for new and retrofit efficiency opportunities including HVAC / UPS improvements
and DC rectifier replacement. Its incentives have been known to cover as much as $1M for
a single project! NSTAR provides rebates for facility assessments as well as new
construction and retrofit projects such as energy-efficient lighting, CRAH units, and plate
and frame heat exchangers. Incentives calculations and payback periods vary based on
utility. For instance, Con Ed’s bases its incentives on the first-year estimated energy
savings of projects and provides data centers with a rebate check when the projects have
been completed and evaluated.
Along with financial incentives, data centers that take advantage of these programs also
benefit from multiple sets of efficiency and gain insight from engineering experts who can
offer consultation services. Engineering partners like EEC are able to offer objective
analyses of infrastructure, review maintenance costs and contracts, measure energy
consumption, research parts availability, conduct capacity planning analysis, and more to
help data centers make the right efficiency decisions at the right time.
To learn more, watch the webinar "How Utility Programs Affect Equipment Upgrade
Decisions." or download this ebook on energy efficiency. GET EBOOK
Tags: data center energy, rebate, utility, equipment efficiency
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