Retrofitting Near End-of-Life Equipment Saves Energy in NJ

Enabled Energy (EE) was contracted to provide a cost effective solution to improve efficiency at a Garden City, NY facility by retrofitting near end-of-life mechanical equipment with electronically communicated (EC) fans.

The facility’s legacy heat rejection system is comprised of 11 Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) units paired with 9 rooftop dry coolers. The 20-ton CRAC units were approximately 20 years old. However, all of them and the dry coolers were in good condition. Upon inspection, the entire facility had a light IT load (approx. 25 tons) with a low density of the IT equipment. As a result, EE quickly saw there were various opportunities to cool the facility more efficiently.

Immediately the team recommended lowering the Aquastat temperature set point to 50°F on the dry coolers to utilize the CRAC units’ existing economization coils. Taking advantage of the cold weather during the colder months allows for less load on the CRAC units’ compressors, resulting in increased energy savings.

Enabled Energy retrofitted all 11 CRAC units with EC fans, allowing for a more balanced cooling distribution throughout the main data hall as well as variable speed capabilities, an option previously not available for the legacy fans. The EC fan retrofits add roughly 5-10 years of life to the existing units by reducing maintenance and wear and tear. EE also improved facility energy efficiency by reducing the overall fan speeds by an average of 37%.

Finally, Enabled Energy addressed inefficiency in IT equipment configuration by adding blanking panels to areas that displayed large gaps in IT equipment rows. By reinforcing the hot aisle cold aisle ecosystem with containment and blanking, this solution reduced mixing of air and allowed for more effective transportation of cold supply air and hot exhaust air.

Enabled Energy was able to analyze the existing conditions, design, specify, build, and commission a solution to meet the client’s requirements. EE completed this work ahead of schedule due to favorable existing conditions of the facility, along with the continued relationship with a superior NY contractor. This allowed for a sense of structure and consistency throughout the entire project.

This project resulted in an estimated annual energy savings of 342,973 kWh, which equates to an average power demand savings of 39.2 kW. Approximately $53,226 in annual energy use is being saved. The estimated incentive from PSEG-LI is $92,000. The estimated payback is 3.6 years.

When isolating the portion of the facility where this project was implemented, the PUE decreased from an estimated annual average of 2.8 to 2.4 (14% improvement in PUE).

Enabled Energy completed this project in March 2022. Rosenburg provided the EC fans for this project. CCIA provided local contracting support. The client provided the controls for the AC units.