Low Energy Data Centre

 

     As said in the design brief we want as much green energy as possible for our data centre. After a study in which we have determined that Photovoltaic panels are more efficient than the wind turbines for the space we have and our location we can now evaluate the part of green electricity in our consumption.
 

We took the solar data from Falkirk and we made the assumption of 50,000m² of solar panels. This correspond to ¾ of the site area plus the server room roof (around 2000 m²). We made the calculations with this model of solar panel:

 

LG300A1C-B3

With an efficiency of 18.3% it’s one of the most efficient PV on the market.

Dimensions: 1640 x 1000 x 35 mm / 64.57 x 39.37 x 1.38 in

 

 

We used this formula to have an estimation of the power output from the solar panels over a year estimating

at each hour how much energy we get and iterates it throughout all the year:[1]

Energy output (W) =H*A*R*PR

Where:

 

• H is the sum of the total direct radiation and the total diffuse radiation (W/m²)

• A is the panel total Area: 52,000 m²

• R is the panel ratio: 0,183 for the LG300A1C-B3.

• PR is the performance ratio of our panel, e.g. 0.75.

 

 

                           For one year: