Data Center Energy Practitioner (DCEP) – Generalist

Program Overview


Developed by Department of Energy (DOE) who have partnered with the industry to create a program leading to practitioners being qualified to evaluate the energy status and efficiency opportunities in data centres. The key objective of the Data Center Energy Practitioner (DCEP) Program is to raise the standards of those involved in energy assessments of data centres to accelerate energy savings in data centres.

The DCEP is split into two programs:

A fully qualified practitioner who has successfully passed both the Generalist and Specialist programs will:

  • Be qualified to identify and evaluate energy efficiency opportunities in data centres
  • Demonstrate proficiency in the use of DOE’s DC Pro software tool suite
  • Address energy opportunities in electrical systems, air management, HVAC, IT equipment, and on-site generation
  • Meet academic/work experience requirements (prequalifications)
  • Receive training on conducting data centre assessments
  • Be required to pass an exam and be requalified every 3 years

Energy efficiency is one of the major factors associated with the effective management of data centres and owners, operators and users are under increasing pressure to reduce the amount of energy they consume. The key objective of the Data Center Energy Practitioner (DCEP) program is to accelerate energy savings and is driven by the fact that significant knowledge, training, and skills are required to perform accurate energy assessments. Becoming a qualified practitioner enables an individual to provide a consistency of approach and have credibility in their recommendations.

This one-day program is intended for high-level practitioners and provides a broad overview of the four main data centre disciplines: IT equipment, air management, electrical systems and cooling. Learners will also be introduced to the DC Pro suite of software.

Topics Include:

  • An introduction to benchmarking and metrics
  • IT Equipment provisioning, component energy use and best practices
  • Airflow and temperature management – best practices
  • Air and liquid-cooling systems / central chilled water – best practices
  • Electrical systems, right-sizing and redundancy – best practices
  • Commissioning, monitoring and controls
  • DOE DC profiler example – live demo

Prerequisites

  • Experience in one of the following is essential:
    • 4 year technical degree with 3 years verifiable DC design/operation experience
    • 2 year technical degree with 6 years verifiable DC design/operation experience
    • 10 years verifiable DC design/operation experience

DCEP Generalist is a 1 day classroom based program. To achieve the full DCEP Practitioner certification, learners must next attend the DCEP Specialist program.

The program has been developed for individuals wishing to gain the skills needed to perform accurate energy assessments in data centres.

1: Generalist - High level knowledge in HVAC, Electrical, and IT Equipment

  • Prequalification (Certificate Track) - One of the following:- 4 year technical degree with 3 years verifiable DC design/operation experience- 2 year technical degree with 6 years verifiable DC design/operation experience- 10 years verifiable DC design/operation experience
  • Training (Both Tracks) - 1 day training including the DC Pro Profiling Tool and a Case Study
  • Exam/Test (Certificate Track) - 3 hour open book exam/test. Waiting period of 30 days to retake exam if failed, 2 free retests

There is an element of pre-learning to be completed prior to the program, we will provide access codes to this two weeks prior to program commencement. Learners are required to bring a laptop to the program with wireless internet connectivity.

The Level 1 Practitioners (Generalists) will be expected to have a good understanding of all data centre disciplines (IT-equipment, cooling systems, air management, and electrical systems) for providing broad recommendations based on the high-level DC Pro Profiling Tool.

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