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Technology

Data Center Energy Efficiency

Thursday, 29 March 2012 14:15

Metering can be an integral part of monitoring data center energy efficiency. Metering can help you know your PUE. It is good to follow ASHRAE activities in the energy efficiency area TC99.

Here is an interesting ASHRAE Book: Green Tips for Data Centers avaliable from Amazon.

Brief contents of Green Tips for Data Centers:
1. measure.
2. optimize temperature and humidity control.
3. separate hot and cold.
4. central plant and VFD.
5. UPS and power.
6. lights.
7. turn off unused infrastructure (last but not least).

One way to help know energy usage better is to interface to your meters with our B6030 or B6035.

Power Meters for Energy Management

Friday, 09 March 2012 15:39

Energy consumption data can help building operators and engineers to better manage their facility's energy use. Current sensors and current transmitters have been commonly used as a relatively inexpensive way to estimate the amount of power used by a piece of equipment, but the price of power meters has decreased to the point that they should be considered for most submetering applications due to their functionality and superior accuracy.

Networked power meters are designed to provide access to the meter data using a network protocol. Modbus is perhaps the most popular open protocol used in power meters that are designed for submetering applications, but proprietary protocols are still widely used. A variety of networked power meters are sold by the large electrical products companies such as Schneider Electric, GE, Eaton (Cutler Hammer) and Siemens.

For the data from power meters to be truly useful, it should be easily accessible by building operators, and selected data should be routinely trended. Devices such as the Cimetrics B6030 and B6035 can be used to convert data from many popular Modbus meters to the BACnet protocol which is commonly used in modern building control systems. A small but increasing number of power meters that can directly communicate using BACnet are now being sold as well, such as the EIG Shark® 100B.

If you are a large commercial, industrial, or institutional energy user that needs assistance with a submetering system, Cimetrics may be able to help.

Cimetrics C.O.O. Mary Ellen Cantabene Selected to Join The Boston Club

Tuesday, 17 January 2012 17:30

Jim Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Cimetrics, is pleased to announce the induction of Mary Ellen Cantabene, Chief Operating Officer of Cimetrics, into the Boston Club. The Boston Club is one of the largest communities of women executives and professional leaders in the Northeast.

Mary Ellen's years of leadership in business, service to her community, and dedication to the advancement of women created an impressive application for her admission into The Boston Club.

Prior to her seven years as C.O.O. of Cimetrics, Mary Ellen held the positions of Vice President of Energy Management for Amerada Hess and Executive Vice President of Energy Management and Risk for Statoil Energy. Statoil Energy partnered with Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies (e.g. Bristol Meyers, Corning Inc., Gannett Corporation) to develop and implement strategic energy plans for their companies. Earlier in her career, Mary Ellen founded H2O Matrix, a $22 million water conservation and management company.

Mary Ellen is looking forward to working with the members of The Boston Club to further their mission of impelling women into leadership positions. She states, "I feel honored to be part of an organization with the core belief that more women in significant leadership roles means better business performance and strengthened economic health in our communities."

Cimetrics congratulates Mary Ellen on this impressive achievement.

Cimetrics to exhibit at AHR Expo 2012

Tuesday, 17 January 2012 17:16

Cimetrics will be an exhibitor at the 2012 AHR Expo, which will be held at McCormick Place in Chicago from January 23-25, 2012. If you plan to go to the AHR Expo, we hope that you will visit our booth (#3460, South Hall) to learn more about our products and services. If you would like to make an appointment for a meeting with us during the AHR Expo, please write to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call us at +1 (617) 350-7550.

Among the offerings that we will be introducing at the AHR Expo are new versions of our BAS-o-matic (BACnet protocol analyzer), BACnet Explorer, and BACstac (BACnet protocol stack).

High-Performance VAV Systems

Friday, 04 November 2011 16:28

"High-Performance VAV Systems" is a recent ASHRAE Journal article that discusses several design and control strategies that can improve the energy efficiency of VAV systems. The article states: "Although none of these strategies are new ... implementation ... in buildings seems to be surprisingly infrequent ... these ought to be standard practice for every VAV system." We strongly concur with this statement; in our experience, many modern VAV systems in existing buildings could be re-programmed to operate in a way that would result in significant energy savings without compromising air quality.

Our Infometrics customers benefit from our analysis of the performance of their HVAC systems. For more information about Infometrics, please click here.