Academica, a Finnish company founded in 1932, provides ICT
services with decades of experience. The company’s product offering covers ICT
management and operator services, including telecommunication, MPLS based
enterprise network, GSM, internet and hostÂing services. Academica puts special
emphasis on energy efficiency and energy consumption measurability and is
continually looking for new solutions to enhance the energy efficiency of their
data centres.
Challenge
The world of data centres is undergoing a fundamental
change. As ever increasing demands are placed on performance and capacity, the
importance of cost- and energy efficiency are rapidly growing. Add to this the
demand for continuous availability whatever the situation, and the result is a
quest for solutions that balance efficiency, reliability and costs.
A Finnish ICT service provider, Academica, decided to
take on these challenges and set a new bar for data centre development. Their
effort produced a winning concept: in 2010 the US based Uptime Institute, a
leading independent think tank and IT research body, granted its highly valued
Green Enterprise IT Award to Academica for their solution.
Solution
Built inside a cave under the 19th century Uspenski
Cathedral in central Helsinki, the Finnish capital, Academica’s data centre
employs the latest and most energy efficient technology, while placing special
emphasis on energy consumption measurability. Innovativeness is clearly visible
in the solutions: for the first time anywhere, heat generated by the servers is
conducted into a central district heating system and is used to warm buildings
and domestic water.
Another global first is their solution for energy intensive
cooling, accomplished cos efficiently with district cooling technology,
whereby cold seawater and surplus heat energy cool the servers.
Energy efficiency in this data centre is not loose talk.
We have carefully selected the most efficient technologies available, and with
these novel solutions we can continuously control the level of energy consumption
in the data centre,” said Matti Roto, director of Academica.
In Academica’s data centre, the power supply is now
ensured with two 225 kVA Eaton 9395 UPSs, configured as a N+1 system and
scalable for future demand. The UPS choice was based on Eaton’s spotless reputation,
previous co – operation and the flexible solution Eaton could offer. The
modular structure of the 9395 easily and reliably ensures the power supply as
the data centre’s capacity grows.
Eaton’s advanced UPS technologies also played an important
role in Academica’s choice of UPS partner. In its UPS setup, Academica can
start using Eaton’s Energy Saver System (ESS) and Variable Module Management
System (VMMS) technologies. With the ESS, the 9395 UPS reaches 99 percent
efficiency, as the technology allows the UPS to safely provide mains current to
a load when the input is within acceptable voltage and frequency limits. At
lower load levels, the VMMS maximises system efficiency in double-conversion
mode by automatiÂcally concentrating the load on the minimum number of UPS
power modules and switching the remaining modules to a ready state. Furthermore,
Eaton UPSs allow for real time power consumption monitoring.
The visit to Eaton’s UPS plant in Helsinki reinforced
our perception of their green ideology. For example, we saw the test bay for
UPS systems that takes only 10 percent of the required power from the mains
current. Like us, Eaton also develops innovative and ecologically sound solutions
and, in co – operation, we have developed a vision of a modern, highly ecological
data centre,” Roto added.
Eaton and Academica started co – operating on the data
centre project back in autumn 2009, when the project was first launched.
“Typically, UPS devices are taken into account only at
the later stages of data centre planning. Consequently, our soluÂtions must be
adapted to the given circumstances, which are often challenging and not optimal.
With Academica, however, we have been working together since the beginning of
the project, so we have built the best possible solutions for ensuring power
supply in this data centre,” said Timo Hossi, country manager, sales and
services at Eaton Power Quality Finland.
Results
Academica’s data centre high lights the essence of green
IT: new solutions save energy, decrease environmental impact and save costs.
For customers, this means less money spent on IT.
By Eaton Corporation
