The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) recently announced the first group of participants who have completed the Data Center Energy Practitioner (DCEP) training program. The goal of the program is to train diverse professionals who will become energy experts with the experience to conduct energy assessments for data centers, a growing and energy-intensive industry. Significant knowledge, training, and skills are required to perform accurate energy assessments in data centers, and the DCEP program was designed and implemented in close coordination with industry stakeholders to train a core group of professional energy practitioners to help data centers reduce their energy demands and accelerate energy savings.
The first group of DCEP participants completed their training and passed exams designed to demonstrate proficiency in the use of select ITP energy assessment tools. To date, the DCEP program has 13 Level 1 Practitioners (Generalists) and 18 Level 2 Practitioners (HVAC Specialists). This select group of individuals from both the public and private sectors was specifically chosen for acceptance into the DCEP program based on its technical abilities and commitment to bringing a culture of energy efficiency to data centers nationwide.
The Level 1 Practitioners have been trained to understand all data center disciplines, including IT equipment, cooling systems, air management, and electrical systems, and are qualified to provide broad recommendations based on ITP's high-level DC Pro Profiling Tool. The Level 2 Practitioners also understand the four data center disciplines and are trained to address energy opportunities using several of the in-depth DC Pro System Assessment Tools. All Level 2 Practitioners passed a specialist exam for cooling and air management (HVAC). ITP has a goal of training at least 200 practitioners by the end of 2011.
This ITP program will train and qualify certified practitioners to identify and evaluate energy efficiency opportunities in data centers; demonstrate proficiency in the use of ITP's DC Pro software tool suite; and address energy opportunities in electrical systems, air management, HVAC and Information Technology (IT) equipment. Property management companies, engineering consulting firms, service companies, data center operators, state energy agencies, and utilities will benefit from the expertise provided by DCEPs.