Evergreen Power Solutions (EPS) adopts Wattwatchers Auditor & API to drive its eCap intelligent energy efficiency programs for Data Centres

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, August 11, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Propelled by the rise of the Internet of Things, Data Centres are well on track to become responsible for more than five percent of the world’s electricity consumption by 2020, and expert analysis forecasts between 8-21 percent by 2030.

That's why two Australian technology companies are collaborating to retrofit older Data Centres to be more energy efficient, and more valuable.

Sydney-based Evergreen Power Solutions (EPS) continues to expand into international markets, especially in South-East Asia. This growth is based on its Energy Cost Avoidance Program (eCap), which enhances a company’s Net Present Value (NPV) through smart investment and boosting asset performance, while guaranteeing a return on investment (ROI) of under 36 months.

Wattwatchers Digital Energy, also based in Sydney, focuses on the devices and data streams to manage electricity in real-time through the cloud, which has turned out to be a strong match for the EPS specialisation in reducing energy consumption while enhancing a Data Centre’s capacity.

During 2018, EPS reworked its software offerings to align with the Wattwatchers energy monitoring and control devices, thereby maximising the value EPS delivers to its clients based on highly-granular real-time and historical energy data collection and storage.

In 2019, it is taking an EPS/Wattwatchers solution out to the Data Centres of Australia and the world, with several ‘proof of concept’ projects already showing compelling results (see case study examples on the Wattwatchers Blog).

EPS CEO Bruce Ewen said that while reducing energy consumption, and therefore costs, through energy efficiency was good in its own right, there was even-greater value on the table if Data Centre owners and operators targeted additional growth while using existing footprint and equipment such as Racks, UPS and computer room air-conditioning (CRAC) units.

‘Reducing electricity use by 15-25 percent is quite achievable,’ said Ewen. ‘This will quickly pay for an investment in energy efficiency. But even more importantly, energy efficiency is a way for Data Centre owners to reinvest in their own facilities, for example by funding and establishing an optimisation program using a company’s existing budget.

‘Data Centre operators will increase by up to 45 percent the capacity on a site they’ve already built, thus delaying or averting costs related to building an expensive new facility.

‘The value of this far outweighs mere savings off the power bill. Energy efficiency helps to grow the business. Short-term savings are useful, however long-term business growth opportunity is the real benefit.’

Wattwatchers’ James Clements, who leads business and product development for the commercial and industrial sector, said there was a common misconception that energy efficiency for commercial and industrial sites was a ‘vanilla’ or ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.

‘Nothing could be less true,’ said Clements. ‘There are many flavours, depending on the kind of business involved, what it makes, how it uses energy and many more variables.’

Clements said that energy services companies (ESCOs) like EPS were able to enhance their projects, in some cases, by earning tradable certificates up front for energy efficiency improvements they deliver to clients.

‘Historically these certificates have been estimated and deemed, based on established calculations, but using real-time, accurate and ongoing monitoring, Wattwatchers devices can bring real Measurement and Verification (M&V) into play.

‘That means everyone involved can see the actual outcomes, and the process of certificate creation can become more certain for the scheme operators, and more lucrative for the ESCOs that get M&V right. Before-and-after analysis backed by hard data underpins confidence in the system and can help to maximise certificate income, including up to 10 years of deemed efficiency up front backed by M&V.’

Bruce Ewen said that EPS had already deployed Wattwatchers in ‘proof of concept’ projects in Victoria, Western Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the US.

‘We’re about to run proof of concepts in the Philippines and Thailand as well.

‘We’re able to commission, monitor and manage energy data, from our base in Sydney. Using Wattwatchers devices and the API, we are centralising the management of all sites without getting on an aeroplane. Previously, we were only making baby steps into the IoT sphere and now with the Wattwatchers auditor/API we are taking giant steps.

‘Collectively we see a value stack emerging: energy savings, certificates, extra asset value, machine-to-machine (M2M) capability and the beginnings of AI which will drive this sector over the next 20 years. All based on information gathering from areas we’ve never had before, but will have now because of the highly-granular, real-time data our software accesses through the Wattwatchers Auditor devices and API.

‘This means getting into areas such as predictive maintenance and predictive fault analysis. You need to have historical data to allow machine to machine programming and predictive learning. Data, more data and even more data is fundamental to artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive learning algorithms.

‘Our aim is to provide a unified offering through hardware and software allowing Facility Managers and Data Centre operators to witness and record in real time the changes in kWh consumption EPS delivers on a project-by-project basis.


About Evergreen Power Solutions: EPS offers an opportunity to reduce the day to day operational costs and increase the operational life of your new or existing Computer Network and related Air Conditioning equipment. Our Energy Cost Avoidance Program (eCap) enhances value through smart investment and boosting asset performance, while offering a compelling return on investment (ROI <36 months).EPS stands for making your existing equipment more efficient, saving dollars in that process, plus reducing your carbon footprint. www.evergreenpower.com.au

About Wattwatchers: Wattwatchers Digital Energy is an award-winning Australian technology company focused on devices, data and communications to make behind-the-meter energy management intelligent, connected, easy to install and operate, and cost-effective. Based in Sydney, Wattwatchers develops and markets ‘IoT for energy’ hardware + firmware + software solutions to accurately monitor, analyse and control electrical circuits in real-time through the cloud. The internationally-certified Wattwatchers product suite is highly flexible, crossing over for residential, commercial and industrial, and utility use cases; and works with an expanding choice of cloud platforms, software applications and consumer interfaces. www.wattwatchers.com.au

Murray Hogarth
Wattwatchers
+61 417 267 235
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