Humana – John-Paul Fontelo – 2011

Goals

As a 2011 EDF Climate Corps fellow, John-Paul (J.P.) Fontelo examined the data center operations of Humana, a $33 billion health care company headquartered in Louisville, KY, with the goal of reducing overall electricity use.

Solutions

Working closely with engineers from Humana’s energy management partner, Johnson Controls Inc., he analyzed opportunities for further “right-sizing” of cooling server racks. Although Humana had already implemented many efficiency measures, further opportunity lay in matching the cooling capacity to data center load and maximizing the potential of a contained, hot-aisle/cold-aisle arrangement. He decided that the most impactful solutions would include 1) Variable Frequency Drives (VFD’s) attached to each individual Computer Room Air Conditioner (CRAC) unit, 2) improvements to air flow management, and 3) airside economization to allow for free cooling from the outside to remove server heat.

Potential Impact

Fontelo estimated that if Humana were to implement the cooling projects, it would save nearly 16 million kWh or $620,000 in electricity costs per year, which translates to about 11 metric tons of carbon emissions.