Arman Shehabi

Estimating the Energy Use and Efficiency Potential of U.S. Data Centers

Data centers are a significant and growing component of electricity demand in the United States. This paper presents a bottom-up model that can be used to estimate total data center electricity demand within a region as well as the potential electricity savings associated with energy efficiency improvements. The model is applied to estimate 2008 U.S. data center electricity demand and the technical potential for electricity savings associated with major measures for IT devices and infrastructure equipment. Results suggest that 2008 demand was approximately 69 billion kilowatt hours (1.8% of 2008 total U.S. electricity sales) and that it may be technically feasible to reduce this demand by up to 80% (to 13 billion kilowatt hours) through aggressive pursuit of energy efficiency measures. Measure-level savings estimates are provided, which shed light on the relative importance of different measures at the national level. Measures applied to servers are found to have the greatest contribution to potential savings.

Can combining economizers with improved filtration save energy and protect equipment in data centers

Economizer use in data centers is an energy efficiency strategy that could significantly limit electricity demand in this rapidly growing economic sector. Widespread economizer implementation, however, has been hindered by potential equipment reliability concerns associated with exposing information technology equipment to particulate matter of outdoor origin. This study explores the feasibility of using economizers in data centers to save energy while controlling particle concentrations with high-quality air filtration. Physical and chemical properties of indoor and outdoor particles were analyzed at an operating northern California data center equipped with an economizer under varying levels of air filtration efficiency. Results show that when improved filtration is used in combination with an economizer, the indoor/outdoor concentration ratios for most measured particle types were similar to levels when using conventional filtration without economizers. An energy analysis of the data center reveals that, even during the summer months, chiller savings from economizer use greatly outweigh any increase in fan power associated with improved filtration. These findings indicate that economizer use combined with improved filtration could reduce data center energy demand while providing a level of protection from particles of outdoor origin similar to that observed with conventional design.

Energy and air emission implications of a decentralized wastewater system

Both centralized and decentralized wastewater systems have distinct engineering, financial and societal benefits. This paper presents a framework for analyzing the environmental effects of decentralized wastewater systems and an evaluation of the environmental impacts associated with two currently operating systems in California, one centralized and one decentralized. A comparison of energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and criteria air pollutants from the systems shows that the scale economies of the centralized plant help lower the environmental burden to less than a fifth of that of the decentralized utility for the same volume treated. The energy and emission burdens of the decentralized plant are reduced when accounting for high-yield wastewater reuse if it supplants an energy-intensive water supply like a desalination one. The centralized facility also reduces greenhouse gases by flaring methane generated during the treatment process, while methane is directly emitted from the decentralized system. The results are compelling enough to indicate that the life-cycle environmental impacts of decentralized designs should be carefully evaluated as part of the design process.

Data Center Economizer Contamination and Humidity Study

Pacific Gas and Electric Company Emerging Technologies Program Data Center Economizer Contamination and Humidity Study Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Issued: Project Manager: March 6, 2007 Stephen Fok Pacific Gas and Electric Company Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Arman Shehabi William Tschudi Ashok Gadgil Prepared By:

The energy and greenhouse-gas implications of internet video streaming in the United States

The rapid growth of streaming video entertainment has recently received attention as a possibly less energy intensive alternative to the manufacturing and transportation of digital video discs (DVDs). This study utilizes a life-cycle assessment approach to estimate the primary energy use and greenhouse-gas emissions associated with video viewing through both traditional DVD methods and online video streaming. Base-case estimates for 2011 video viewing energy and CO2(e) emission intensities indicate video streaming can be more efficient than DVDs, depending on DVD viewing method. Video streaming benefits from relatively more efficient end-user devices than DVD viewing, though much of that savings is lost when accounting for the additional energy from network data transmission. Video streaming appears distinctly favorable when compared against any DVD viewing that includes consumer driving, which significantly increases the energy and CO2(e) emissions per viewing hour. Total US 2011 video viewing required about 192 PJ of primary energy and emitted about 10.5 billion kg of CO2(e). Shifting all 2011 DVD viewing to video streaming reduces the total primary energy use to about 162 PJ and the CO2(e) emissions to about 8.6 billion kg, representing a savings equivalent to the primary energy used to meet the electricity demand of nearly 200 000 US households each year. Sensitivity analysis indicates that results are most influenced by the end-user DVD player power demand, data transmission energy, and consumer travel for store DVDs. Data center energy use—both operational and embodied within the IT equipment—account for <1% of the total video streaming energy use. Results from this study indicate that designers and policy makers should focus on the efficiency of end-user devices and network transmission energy to curb future increases in energy use from the proliferation of video streaming.

Known unknowns: indirect energy effects of information and communication technology

© 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd. Background. There has been sustained and growing interest in characterizing the net energy impact of information and communication technology (ICT), which results from indirect effects offsetting (or amplifying) the energy directly consumed by ICT equipment. These indirect effects may be either positive or negative, and there is considerable disagreement as to the direction of this sign as well as the effect magnitude. Literature in this area ranges from studies focused on a single service (such as e-commerce versus traditional retail) to macroeconomic studies attempting to characterize the overall impact of ICT. Methods. We review the literature on the indirect energy effect of ICT found via Google Scholar, our own research, and input from other researchers in the field. The various studies are linked to an effect taxonomy, which is synthesized from several different hierarchies present in the literature. References are further grouped according to ICT service (e.g., e-commerce, telework) and summarized by scope, method, and quantitative and qualitative findings. Review results. Uncertainty persists in understanding the net energy effects of ICT. Results of indirect energy effect studies are highly sensitive to scoping decisions and assumptions made by the analyst. Uncertainty increases as the impact scope broadens, due to complex and interconnected effects. However, there is general agreement that ICT has large energy savings potential, but that the realization of this potential is highly dependent on deployment details and user behavior. Discussion. While the overall net effect of ICT is likely to remain unknown, this review suggests several guidelines for improving research quality in this area, including increased data collection, enhancing traditional modeling studies with sensitivity analysis, greater care in scoping, less confidence in characterizing aggregate impacts, more effort on understanding user behavior, and more contextual integration across the different levels of the effect taxonomy.

Reply to Comment on ‘Energy and air emission implications of a decentralized wastewater system’

Complementing centralized water-related infrastructure with decentralized facilities is being considered in some communities and a life-cycle perspective is needed for informed decision making. Our 2012 study presents a framework for analyzing the environmental effects of decentralized wastewater systems. While the analysis framework could be applied to cases with a variety of sizes, we evaluated two currently operating systems in California, one decentralized and one centralized plant with a much larger capacity. The disparate scales of the two plants represent an ‘off-the-grid’ suburban neighborhood-scale system compared with a similarly sized neighborhood connecting to an adjacent large centralized plant. Deciding whether or not to connect expanding developments to nearby centralized plants is a realistic scenario for future growth, making the treatment plants evaluated in our study a realistic choice for comparison.

A characterization of the nonresidential fenestration market

The purpose of this report is to characterize the nonresidential fenestration market in order to better understand market barriers to, and opportunities for, energy-efficient fenestration products. In particular, the goal is to: (1) Better understand how glazing products flow between industry groups. (2) Identify major decision makers directing the product flow. (3) Understand industry trends for certain technologies or products. (4) Characterize the role of energy codes and standards in influencing industry trends. (5) Assess the impact of product testing and certification programs on the industry. The U.S. glass industry is a

Lifecycle Industry GreenHouse gas, Technology and Energy through the Use Phase (LIGHTEnUP) – Analysis Tool User’s Guide

27 billion enterprise with both large producers and small firms playing pivotal roles in the industry. While most sectors of the glass industry have restructured and consolidated in the past 20 years, the industry still employs 150,000 workers. Nonresidential glazing accounts for approximately 18% of overall U.S. glass production. In 1999, nonresidential glazing was supplied to approximately 2.2 billion ft{sup 2} of new construction and additions. That same year, nonresidential glazing was also supplied to approximately 1.1 billion ft{sup 2} of remodeling construction. With an industry this large and complex, it is to be expected that many market participants can influence fenestration selection. If market barriers to the selection of high performance fenestration products are better understood, then the U. S. Department of Energy (USDOE), the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), and others can develop programs and policies that promote greater energy efficiency in commercial glazing products.

Unit Price Scaling Trends for Chemical Products

Author(s): Morrow, III, William; Shehabi, Arman; Smith, Sarah | Abstract: The LIGHTEnUP Analysis Tool (Lifecycle Industry GreenHouse gas, Technology and Energy through the Use Phase) has been developed for The United States Department of Energy’s (U.S. DOE) Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) to forecast both the manufacturing sector and product life-cycle energy consumption implications of manufactured products across the U.S. economy. The tool architecture incorporates publicly available historic and projection datasets of U.S. economy-wide energy use including manufacturing, buildings operations, electricity generation and transportation. The tool requires minimal inputs to define alternate scenarios to business-as-usual projection data. The tool is not an optimization or equilibrium model and therefore does not select technologies or deployment scenarios endogenously. Instead, inputs are developed exogenous to the tool by the user to reflect detailed engineering calculations, future targets and goals, or creative insights. The tool projects the scenario’s energy, CO2 emissions, and energy expenditure (i.e., economic spending to purchase energy) implications and provides documentation to communicate results. The tool provides a transparent and uniform system of comparing manufacturing and use-phase impacts of technologies. The tool allows the user to create multiple scenarios that can reflect a range of possible future outcomes. However, reasonable scenarios require careful attention to assumptions and details about the future. This tool is part of an emerging set of AMO’s life cycle analysis (LCA) tool such as the Material Flows the Industry (MFI) tool [1] [2], and the Additive Manufacturing LCA tool [3].