On Tue, 16 Jan 2001, Matt Clauson wrote:
Allo, all... Watching what's going on in California, it occured to me, and some of my colleagues, that the major colo and data centers (for example, but not focusing on, Exodus, Colo.com, etc.) could assist in the power crunch that California is having by shifting part, or all, of their loads over to generator power -- one would think that a) diesel fuel is still cheaper than electricity in California, price hikes lately notwithstanding, and b) the goodwill generated by such an endeavor would be good for the company. Admittedly, some sites with only limited battery UPS power cannot do this, at least not so early in the day. But it seems to me that at least a few datacenters and major facilities could switch over to independent power and just keep fueling the generators.
Question: Why would (or wouldn't) your company switch your datacenter loads to generator (or other off-mains) power sources, if you had the capability and/or capacity?
Comments invited, especially from companies in CA, or with offices/datacenters in CA. Comments will be aggregated and (re)posted at a later date.
(note: this is posted from my personal account. This inquiry is NOT related to my employer or employment, but is posed for information, speculation, and discussion among the NANOG and Internet communities.)
--mec
Matt, I believe that you will find that it is no economical to run on generator when on-mains power is available. The fuel is only one factor in the overall cost of running on generator. Mechanical wear and tear is the number one cost. The cost of power is will have to increase much more before it becomes cost-effective to self-generate. Note: Our facilities are NOT in CA but it still costs money to run the generators in OH. <grin> --- John Fraizer EnterZone, Inc