A Model-Based Key Performance Index for Energy Assessment and Monitoring of Telecommunication Cooling Systems

A model-based key performance indicator (KPI) is proposed to monitor and suggest useful counteractions, to be undertaken whenever inefficient management of cooling systems is detected. The proposed methodology is applied both at room and central office (CEOF) level over an extended time window. The different modeling approaches required to usefully apply the proposed method to both Telecommunication (TLC) rooms and entire CEOFs are presented and discussed in detail. The results obtained in the former case allowed us to deeply analyze two alternative cooling management strategies for a selected TLC room, particularly addressing what is the most efficient one depending on outside temperature. Furthermore, the simulation-based evaluation of KPI was validated by comparison with experimentally derived estimations. The KPI computed at the CEOF level was proven effective to verify if expectable cooling efficiencies were met. Finally, the proposed KPI metric was discussed in view of its potential deployment to diagnose abnormal energy consumptions, which can be due to faults occurring either in sensors or cooling devices.