Our Smart Grid orchestrates energy efficiency to stay in tune with variations in microclimates, campus needs, and community demands.
Spotlight: GreenLight
The GreenLight project will develop a virtual-reality version of the modular datacenter (above). Many of UCSD’s top scientists, engineers, and technical experts are collaborating under the leadership of the university’s Calit2.
Our GreenLight project will dramatically cut the energy requirements necessary to run UC San Diego’s extensive scientific computing systems. Installing 2 Sun Modular Datacenter S20s will reduce cooling costs by 40% with cooling power that’s 5 times the capacity of typical datacenters. This fascinating, highly technical project transmits light over optical fibers (photonics); sensors that measure temperature, humidity, energy consumption, and other variables. See more about GreenLight.
More about 2.0 smart grid
- UC San Diego’s microclimate weather station network, called DEMROES (Decision Making Using Real-time Observations for Environmental Sustainability) is setting the U.S. standard for weather data collection. A wireless sensing network installed throughout campus provides a platform for:
- Researchers to collaborate with students, providing hands-on field experience
- A network of 12 on-campus weather stations quantify how sea breezes affect temperature and humidity
- Information that our Energy Management System can use to better adjust energy and water consumption
- Extending the pilot project into a massive city or regional scale
- We’re developing a real-time energy monitoring system based on the “Prius effect.” When Prius drivers see their fuel use in real-time, they tend to drive more carefully to conserve fuel.
In our system, we’ll show building occupants the real-time energy use to provide incentive to conserve by turning off lights, turning down heat, etc. Sensors will meter power use in the building, then communicate the information via smartmeters over the Internet to a Web site that will display on your workstation monitor, in your building’s lobby, or in another logical location. When you see how much power you’re using, you just might want to conserve more.
Ongoing projects
- We’re minimizing cyberinfrastructure energy use by finding ways to minimize power to run computers, using novel cooling sources, and developing software with automatic power optimization.
- During the 2007 wildfires in San Diego County, we provided the city of San Diego with emergency power to offset losses of city power plants:
- 12 p.m. SDG&E calls for assistance; UCSD responds by sending backup energy to supplement SDG&E resources
- 2 p.m. SDG&E Loses South Bay Unit 4, Peaker Plants not performing – city relies on UCSD energy
- 2:30 p.m. SDG&E loses San Onofre power plant link – city relies on UCSD energy