OCP, energy, data centres and society: new applications and metrics
Summary
TLDREn esta presentación, el orador, un investigador de la Universidad de Lancaster, comparte sus hallazgos sobre el uso sostenible del calor residual de los centros de datos. Con una década de experiencia en la industria de TI y varios años como docente universitario, ahora explora aplicaciones innovadoras para el calor desechado por los centros de datos, desde calentar hogares hasta deshidratar productos agrícolas. Presenta una nueva métrica, el 'puntaje de sostenibilidad energética del centro de datos', para evaluar de manera holística la eficiencia y sostenibilidad de estos centros. La investigación destaca el potencial significativo de los centros de datos para contribuir positivamente a la sociedad y al medio ambiente, más allá de sus roles convencionales.
Takeaways
- 😊 L'industrie des centres de données utilise environ 1% de l'électricité mondiale, ce qui représente des milliards de dollars et des mégatonnes d'émissions de carbone.
- 🔥 La chaleur résiduelle des centres de données peut être réutilisée pour chauffer des maisons, des piscines, déshydrater des matières premières comme le bois, les algues et les légumes.
- 🌳 La déshydratation de matières premières comme le bois, les algues et les légumes pourrait être une nouvelle application pour la chaleur résiduelle des centres de données.
- 🏭 La chaleur résiduelle pourrait également être utilisée dans d'autres industries comme les serres ou l'énergie marine.
- ✈️ Un projet futuriste propose d'utiliser la chaleur résiduelle pour déshydrater les algues afin de produire un carburant d'aviation durable.
- ☕ L'auteur a étudié la possibilité de déshydrater toutes les récoltes de café du Costa Rica avec seulement 50 conteneurs de centres de données.
- 📈 Le métrique PUE (efficacité énergétique des centres de données) n'est pas suffisante pour mesurer la durabilité, un nouveau score est proposé pour inclure la réutilisation de l'énergie.
- 🌍 Les applications de réutilisation de la chaleur doivent être adaptées aux différentes régions géographiques et structures sociétales.
- 👥 L'auteur encourage la collaboration et l'engagement avec la communauté Open Compute pour développer ces nouvelles applications.
- 🎓 Cette présentation est basée sur la thèse de doctorat de l'auteur sur ce sujet à l'Université de Lancaster.
Q & A
¿Cuál es el objetivo principal de la investigación presentada?
-El objetivo principal es investigar nuevas aplicaciones y métricas para el calor residual generado por los centros de datos, con el fin de reutilizarlo de manera más sostenible en lugar de desperdiciarlo.
¿Qué nuevas aplicaciones se proponen para el calor residual de los centros de datos?
-Algunas aplicaciones propuestas incluyen calentar viviendas, piscinas, deshidratar materiales como pellets de madera, madera, algas, verduras y hojas de té, almacenar calor cargando sales hidratadas, proporcionar calor a otras industrias como invernaderos, y producir combustible de aviación sostenible a partir de algas deshidratadas.
¿Qué métrica existente se menciona y cuáles son sus limitaciones?
-Se menciona la métrica PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness), que es una métrica financiera que solo tiene en cuenta el 12% del consumo total de energía en un centro de datos, sin considerar el calor residual y su potencial reutilización.
¿Qué nueva métrica se propone para evaluar la sostenibilidad energética de los centros de datos?
-Se propone una nueva métrica llamada "Data Center Energy Sustainability Score" (DSS), que tiene en cuenta la energía de entrada, el consumo del centro de datos y la reutilización del calor residual, brindando una visión más holística de la sostenibilidad energética.
¿Qué ventajas se mencionan sobre la métrica propuesta (DSS) en comparación con PUE?
-A diferencia de PUE, DSS tiene en cuenta toda la cadena de energía, incluyendo la entrada de energía, el consumo del centro de datos y el reaprovechamiento del calor residual. Además, se menciona que DSS es una métrica más cruda pero más correcta para evaluar la reutilización del calor y la sostenibilidad general.
¿Qué ejemplos geográficos se mencionan en relación con la reutilización del calor residual?
-Se mencionan ejemplos de Malasia, Costa Rica, Suecia, los países nórdicos y Etiopía, destacando los desafíos y oportunidades para la reutilización del calor residual en diferentes regiones y contextos socioeconómicos.
¿Qué importancia se le da a la colaboración y la participación en la comunidad Open Compute Project (OCP)?
-Se insta a los interesados a participar y colaborar con la comunidad OCP y su subproyecto relacionado, ya que se presenta como una plataforma valiosa para compartir ideas y avanzar en el desarrollo de soluciones sostenibles para el calor residual de los centros de datos.
¿Qué aspecto se menciona como un posible trabajo futuro?
-Se menciona la posibilidad de dejar el ámbito académico y explorar oportunidades fuera de él, manteniendo el interés en el tema de la reutilización del calor residual de los centros de datos y las métricas de sostenibilidad.
¿Qué papel se menciona que podría desempeñar la reutilización del calor residual en situaciones de escasez de alimentos?
-Se sugiere que la reutilización del calor residual podría ayudar a deshidratar y preservar nutrientes de verduras y otros alimentos, lo cual podría ser beneficioso en regiones propensas a hambrunas, como el Cuerno de África, donde las sequías y las hambrunas ocurren cada pocos años.
¿Qué beneficios adicionales se mencionan sobre la reutilización del calor residual además de los ambientales?
-Se menciona que la reutilización del calor residual también podría tener un valor de relaciones públicas positivo para las empresas de centros de datos, como se vio cuando un centro de datos calentó una piscina y recibió atención mediática.
Outlines
🗣️ Introducción y agradecimientos
El autor comienza agradeciendo a la OCP por el evento y por invitarlo, también agradece a los miembros del panel de la mañana. Presenta su nombre y menciona que está terminando su tesis doctoral sobre el tema en la Universidad de Lancaster. Proporciona detalles sobre su experiencia laboral en la industria de TI y como profesor universitario.
🌍 Importancia de reutilizar el calor residual de los centros de datos
El autor destaca que los centros de datos consumen alrededor del 1% de la electricidad mundial, generando grandes cantidades de emisiones de carbono. Señala que el calor residual de los centros de datos, si se reutiliza adecuadamente, puede convertirse en un recurso valioso en lugar de un desperdicio. Presenta un diagrama que muestra la entrada de energía, los servidores, la refrigeración y la reutilización del calor residual. Menciona que su investigación se centra en las aplicaciones novedosas para el calor residual de los centros de datos y en el desarrollo de métricas para medirlo.
🏘️ Aplicaciones para el calor residual de los centros de datos
El autor enumera varias aplicaciones potenciales para el calor residual de los centros de datos, como calentar hogares, piscinas, deshidratar productos como pellets de madera, madera, algas, verduras y hojas de té. Destaca que esto podría ayudar a conservar nutrientes y prevenir hambrunas en países en desarrollo. También menciona la posibilidad de almacenar calor cargando sales hidratadas, deshidratar materia orgánica para capturar CO2 y proporcionar calor a otras industrias como invernaderos y energía marina. Además, sugiere un proyecto de aviación sostenible utilizando algas deshidratadas como combustible.
⚖️ Necesidad de nuevas métricas de sostenibilidad
El autor señala que si bien el PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) es una métrica útil para fines financieros, no es una métrica de sostenibilidad adecuada. Propone una nueva métrica holística llamada "Data Center Energy Sustainability Score" (DSS) que tiene en cuenta toda la cadena energética, incluyendo la entrada de energía, el centro de datos y la reutilización del calor residual. Explica cómo se calcula el DSS y lo compara con el PUE en diferentes escenarios, demostrando que el DSS es una métrica más completa para evaluar la sostenibilidad energética de los centros de datos.
🤝 Llamado a la colaboración y conclusión
Finalmente, el autor invita a la audiencia a unirse a la comunidad de Open Compute y al subproyecto relacionado con la reutilización del calor residual. Solicita ideas y colaboración, y expresa su interés en conocer lo que otros están haciendo en este campo. Concluye enfatizando la importancia de ir más allá de los centros de datos al abordar temas de sostenibilidad energética.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Centros de datos
💡Calor residual
💡Reutilización del calor
💡Aplicaciones novedosas
💡Métricas de sostenibilidad
💡Geografías y estructuras sociales
💡Colaboración
💡Investigación académica
💡Eficiencia energética
💡Impacto ambiental
Highlights
The presenter is finishing up what they believe is the first PhD thesis on data centers and society at Lancaster University.
Quoting the OCP sub-project on heat reuse: "Almost 100% of the energy used in a process of turns into heat. With proper design, this heat can be converted into a heat source and heat management opportunity, converting heat from a liability to an asset."
The data center industry uses about 1% of the world's electricity, which translates to billions of dollars or pounds and megatons of carbon emissions.
The presenter's question is how can the lukewarm waste heat from data centers be reused.
Novel applications for data center waste heat include heating society (homes, swimming pools), dehydrating commodities (wood pellets, timber, seaweed, vegetables), charging salt hydrates for heat storage, and providing heat to other industries like greenhouses and marine energy.
Dehydrating bioorganic matter can capture CO2, and waste heat could prolong growing seasons in greenhouses, addressing issues like the UK tomato crisis.
A "blue sky" idea is using dehydrated seaweed for sustainable aviation fuel, providing income in developing nations while enabling sustainable flying globally.
The presenter claims that with 50 data center containers, all coffee bean harvests in Costa Rica could be dehydrated using waste heat.
Existing metrics like PUE are financial metrics, not sustainability metrics, and only capture around 12% of the overall energy picture.
The proposed new metric is the Data Center Energy Sustainability Score (DCESS), which includes energy input, compute energy, and energy reuse to provide a more holistic view of sustainability.
DCESS values the reuse of energy three times more than the input energy, incentivizing the beneficial reuse of waste heat.
The presenter mapped PUE and DCESS for different scenarios in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, showing the impact of heat reuse and renewable energy on overall sustainability.
The presenter encourages engaging with the Open Compute community, joining the relevant sub-project, and collaborating on these sustainability efforts.
Future work involves exploring potential opportunities beyond academia to further advance sustainability in the data center industry.
The conclusion emphasizes moving beyond just the data center when thinking about these sustainability matters and the importance of collaboration.
Transcripts
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oh this now it works thank you very much
you know computers
um first I would like to to to thank the
ocp for for
this great event and and also for
inviting me here and also want to thank
the panel members from this morning a
really great panel so thank you Oli
um this is my presentation ocp and the
data centers and Society new
applications and metrics my name is
I'm finishing up what I believe is the
first PhD thesis on in this subject
at Lancaster University is where I am
this is well this is actually some some
photos from where
um
and all of the pictures of mine across
here
um so I've been 10 years in the IIT
industry than than another eight years
as a unilecturer actually I'm back now
lecturing at yup study University in
Sweden
um and right now I'm writing up the
thesis
I would like to start this presentation
quoting the ocp sub project from heat
reuse
almost 100 and used in a process of
turns into heat we know that
with proper design dates into cooling
systems can be converted into a heat
source and heat management opportunity
as we were discussing during the panel
that in turn converts the heat from a
liability to an acid
and this is sort of the starting point
on my research
um and as we know the data center
industry unless John was just pointing
out the data center industry uses about
one percent the world's electricity
which means billions of dollars or
Pounds or so megatons of carbon
emissions
and we get to wastage
of this is something weird with with the
formatting here from uh when we run the
computer but anyway
and this power turns into waste it
35 degrees or more if it's a liquid
immersion Cooling
and my question is how can we reuse this
lukewarm Heat
um
if you look on the right
we have we have sort of the truth Poe
doesn't give you the truth and you all
know that this is the truth
we have incoming hitch or incoming sorry
incoming energy we have the data center
servers
and there we have Cooling
and then we have heat reuse if we do a
draw
so this is this little tiny area about
12 if we think of worldwide PE is is
what what Pue covers
search flops
um cover the entire data center but it's
limited to that
Yuri irf basically
covers this
DSS which I'm going to talk about today
uh covers all this
um
so what I've been doing well first of
all first of all I looked into novel
applications for data center waste eqs
and I'm actually speaking on waste heat
use because we're not really reusing the
heat are we we are using the Heat
it was something else before
um then I I then I mapped these
applications to different geographies
and societal structures and these are my
photos from Malaysia speaking of the
question we got to earlier today
uh Tea Plantation and um
and strawberry farm
then in order to measure these things I
needed a helpful metric so easy to
understand easy to use the beauty of Pue
is that it's easy to to to to to
understand
and then finally I wanted to prove the
metric through use cases and this is my
research
so what
terms of applications for data center
wasted use
well we can hit the society
we and this is something we know
um thousands of homes in the nordics
just a matter talking about odense in
Denmark
but we can also do this a small scale a
month ago or so I visited an apartment
building in Basel in Switzerland
where they had a liquid immersion
cooling tank in in the basement
um you can also heat swimming pools like
in in like what we will do in Blackpool
which is going to be a new European uh
date Center hub
but apart from these things that we
already know what else
well for one thing we can de-egrate
Commodities and that is also being
brought up earlier this morning
so for example wooden pellets
um and this is a photo of mine from
Fallen where we have the echo data
center if you've heard of that one these
are three trunks
and these are piles of wooden pellets
partly partially heated uh with with the
wasted from a good Data Center
and I mean if you look at the dimensions
this is like 50 meters or so
um but I claim we can also dehydrate
many other things Timber
millions of tons for example of Timber
depending on where you are depending on
location
seaweed I'll come back to that
vegetables
and to conserve and preserve nutrients
conserve the vegetables we could do this
in say Ethiopia
100 hydropower in Ethiopia but we do
have regular famines there is an ongoing
famine right now
not in Ethiopia but but in the Horn of
Africa not far away this these come with
every three years so I knew I knew
12 years ago that we would have a famine
right now and we do
we we could we could preserve
um nutrients and by by actually
dehydrating a lot of those vegetables
tea leaves for example as well
we can store Heat by charging salt
hydrates a nice thing about that is that
we'll leave heat as is instead of using
heat pumps for example
um we could also dehydrate bioorganic
matter to crop CO2 I was speaking about
that in Switzerland as well a month ago
and we can provide other Industries with
heat greenhouses Marine energy in this
case otec won't go into Hotel today
um
a month or so ago I I reached out to PT
judge for at DCd
a great person
um
and we discussed data centers and the
Tomato crisis of the UK if you've heard
about that the shortage of vegetables
well they could have easily prolonged
the growing Seasons with with the
greenhouses
um a more Blue Sky project that I've
been looking into well Blue Sky was a
fun pun actually it's a sustainable
Aviation View
that is something that we could do
pretty much all over the world also in
developing nations to provide an income
using dehydrated seaweed
and then we could all fly sustainably
and note that regardless of say how
viable is this or how much do we gain I
mean for for for a data center player
this is a good PR value we saw that a
few weeks back in in UK
where where just a rack
just a rack of computers were hitting a
swimming pool and we've been doing this
for 15 years
but still or not we but in Switzerland
but but still that brought some media
attention also by the BBC
okay so I've been looking into Costa
Rica
um
and I see I see I see Maxi from uptime
and who like this
um
Coffee Bean dehydration idea
uh where I claim that we could degrade
all of the coffee being Harvest from
Costa Rica with 50
data center containers actually we could
do it with fewer
um
Sweden uh I I want to live whoops lulio
uh and this is the fourth I think
addition to uh matters or then
Facebook's data center European uh main
danger-centric site
in Malaysia
is much trickier the nordics
is easy
the tropics is trickier but that is
where you have half the world population
and a growing population that is a
future market for the data center
industry so keep keep that in mind
therefore it went there
this brings me to the third and final
part of the presentation
we need new metrics
as we said before
ISO a PE or just PV if if you prefer
um
it's good for what it's supposed to do
but it's it's a it's a financial metric
as was pointed out but DJ I think it's
it's not a sustainability metric
still it's used in this Regard in China
the Netherlands Singapore and maybe more
countries today
to only allow for certain data centers
but as I said
it only gives 12 percent of the truth
I'm looking in I'm interested in the
whole truth
there are some interesting downsides
with PV the more efficient service the
worse the PV a more heavy AI compute the
better the Poe
thus we need a new holistic metric
and the metric that we propose from from
my research group
um includes all parts of the energy
chain so input the data center and
wastage
we call this for now data center energy
sustainability score
maybe it should be called something else
it's not really my main concern
so we take energy in energy compute
energy reuse
and then
to to also keep in mind or to keep the
um the beauty of PE the easiness
we do this crude but more correct
obviously for for heat reuse and for
overall sustainability
so it takes three times the in-going
energy because if it's renewable and
hydropower for example and this
hydropower is not really going to be
somewhere else but we can actually use
it before
than it than it's benevolent
if we do if we reuse it it's good if we
reuse the energy
because then we're just using the the
data center as a heater with some added
data
what happens inside the data center
I don't think it really matters that
much because
what we have
except for Server work
and this is the worldwide PV if you look
at hyperscalers it's almost all server
work I mean the what we're addressing
there in cooling it's really not that
much in terms in in comparison to to the
entire energy chain
thus have been mapping this PV and the
DSs to or DSS to to different cases
and if you look at the first three here
you see there from cyber so in in KL or
Kuala Lumpur
um current Energy Mix no heat no heat
use trying to mix what commodity
dehydration could be cardboard it could
be seaweed it could be Timber
um mango
um or 100 renewable energy which I don't
really have because Malaysia is an oil
state
and commodity dehydration
and if you just look at the first
three bars here
the gray is pvpe doesn't care about
these other things it was never meant to
do it was never designed to do it
but the DSs
for that for that part it really makes a
difference so obviously it is a much
better overall metric and it's I mean it
takes everything into account so it
should
if you want to see more of these and I'm
sure several of you do
um
feel free to to look at this uh in in
this paper that describes them it's it's
a long paper but it's an easy red it's
also Open Access so you can just read it
um
it was recently published in Frontiers
in sustainability and edited or
the main editor was Deborah Andrews
okay so my final seconds here
[Music]
um
I want you to if you're interested
please engage with open compute join the
sub project Community here
great presentations in this group
also contact me if you if you have ideas
also I'm looking into well future work
right now I don't know how long I will
stay in Academia
yeah
and anyway I'm I'm interested in in
in hearing what you're doing over
LinkedIn for example
so to conclude let's collaborate let's
move beyond the data center when we're
thinking about these matters
thank you very much and the questions
[Applause]
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