Development and experimental assessment of a multi-annual energy monitoring tool to support energy intelligence and management in telecommunication industry

Abstract

Carbon-footprint reduction of key industrial buildings is addressed, by proposing methodologies for continuously monitoring telecommunication (TLC) central offices (COs). Main aim is classifying sites according to their efficiency and reliability, via the diagnosis of anomalous electricity consumptions. Such a goal is achieved through the definition of new key performance indicators (KPIs) based on TLC and cooling energy demand, improving the outcomes of pre-existing methods. While the reliability index and index of cluster reliability are specifically proposed to evaluate and physically assess the impact of climate control (CLC, i.e., the parasitic quota) electricity consumption with respect to the TLC one, the here introduced coefficient of variation of telecommunication energy allows for a more solid evaluation of energy measurements reliability. Another target of this study is to extend the afore-mentioned KPIs-based analysis to multi-annual periods of monitoring, thus allowing successfully meeting the currently in-force ISO 50001 standard. Specific central offices were then selected and analyzed to verify the results physical meaning. The method was proven effective in classifying central offices belonging to climate-homogenous fleets, according to the reliability level estimated over a triannual timeframe. Positive impacts in terms of attainable energy saving through improved thermal management, as well as methodology extendibility to other industrial sectors are finally presented and discussed.