How telcos can put energy management first and fight climate change

This is an important point, but 5G is only one element in the list of subjects that motivate telecommunications operators to focus more and more on reducing their energy consumption and their greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse. Until now engaged in a continuous cycle of upgrading their networks, they are now focusing on the costs and the carbon footprint linked to these developments. According to the experts, this will be their absolute priority for the years to come.

The good news is that operators have already made great strides towards reducing their energy consumption. They have been deploying hybrid energy systems for decades and are early adopters of solar power, although these applications have remained limited and specific.

But what short-term and long-term strategies can these companies deploy to increase their energy efficiency and make progress on the sustainability front?

Replace old DC power systems

Let's be clear: there is no miracle solution to reduce the gross energy consumption of operators' networks. However, there are various immediate steps that can be taken to support their transition to renewable energy, such as solar power.

Already widely adopted, the most obvious strategy is to opt for high-efficiency rectifiers in the DC power systems present at each access site. Replacing these older systems with newer, more efficient models can increase their energy efficiency by 5-6%.

In addition, modern equipment often has energy saving modes and functions that are too often ignored. Today's DC power systems, for example, are smarter and provide more advanced power management than their predecessors.

Adapt energy strategies to access sites

While it is an exaggeration to claim that each site is unique, when taking into account the differentiating factors (region, climate, network reliability, water availability or regulations), it is clear that no strategy would be suitable for all access sites.

Energy and emissions management strategies must be linked to planning efforts and available real estate, and operators must adapt their approach to conditions across their networks. For example, hybrid systems, using solar power as a supplement to unreliable or overtaxed grids, are far more common in much of Africa, South America, the Middle East and parts of Asia than in the United States, where the network is generally reliable and affordable.

Use smart controllers for load management

Today, it is possible to monitor DC power infrastructures in real time.

Using smart controllers with advanced load management capabilities, operators visualize load location, energy performance and load balancing issues to optimize DC power, maximize use of cooling systems, and to avoid overloading. With effective tools, it is possible to achieve high availability and optimize performance and reduce costs.

With proactive load management, operators can identify each rack's location and power profile, visualize potential hotspots, and spot load balancing issues. After mapping the site's power distribution and cooling capacity, they can move the load from rack to rack to improve airflow and cooling.

Take a long-term view

Today, operators must also adopt a long-term vision and creative and ambitious approaches to manage their consumption. For example, the shift from diesel generators to hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

Other innovations could include emerging technologies (eg sodium-ion batteries), which would provide additional opportunities for off-grid operation and energy management. Finally, the networks are likely to transform into micro-grids generating, sharing their own energy internally and with electricity suppliers.

Although many of these new technologies are not viable alternatives on today's access networks, it is certain that this innovative sector will continue to drive progress and promote a more efficient and greener future for industry.

Tribune by Séverine Hanauer, Director Telco Strategic Segments & Edge Deployment, Southern Europe at Vertiv (LinkedIn).