Control of Computer Room Air Conditioning using IT Equipment Sensors

The goal of this demonstration was to show how sensors in IT equipment could be accessed and used to directly control computer room air conditioning. The data provided from the sensors is available on the IT network and the challenge for this project was to connect this information to the computer room air handler's control system. A control strategy was developed to enable separate control of the chilled water flow and the fans in the computer room air handlers. By using these existing sensors in the IT equipment, an additional control system is eliminated (or could be redundant) and optimal cooling can be provided saving significant energy. Using onboard server temperature sensors will yield significant energy reductions in data centers. Intel hosted the demonstration in its Santa Clara, CA data center. Intel collaborated with IBM, HP, Emerson, Wunderlich-Malec Engineers, FieldServer Technologies, and LBNL to install the necessary components and develop the new control scheme. LBNL also validated the results of the demonstration.