Sony Pictures Entertainment
At a Glance
Industry
Arts, Media and Entertainment
Project Type
Commercial Energy Efficiency
Year
2009
Location
Culver City, CA
Annual kWh Savings:
3,000,000 kWh
Annual CO2 Reductions:
873 metric tons
Summary
Russell Baruffi investigated the potential for hot and cold aisle containment at Sony Pictures.
Goals
Russell Baruffi, a joint MBA/MS student at the University of Michigan, spent his summer as an EDF Climate Corps fellow at Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), the motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and distribution subsidiary of the Japanese multinational electronics and entertainment conglomerate Sony Corporation.
Solutions
Baruffi explored the SPE campus in Culver City, California and identified several energy efficiency opportunities. Some of the most significant potential savings Baruffi identified could come from SPE's data centers. One project he investigated is hot and cold aisle containment. Hot and cold aisles are created by arranging computer cabinets so that hot and cold air are separated into different spaces. Arranging the cabinets in this manner reduces the ability of hot and cold air to mix and improves the cooling efficiency of data center air conditioners.
Potential Impact
Implementing hot and cold aisles SPE could achieve significant savings over the life of the project of up to 3 million kWh of electricity per year, while avoiding annual CO2 emissions of 873 metric tons.