"Mark & Mary Ann Weiss" wrote in message
...
That sounds about right for the consumption figures.
Option A is my only option right now. I would LIKE to find alternative
energy sources to run them so I can avoid option B which is
counterproductive, as I would have leave the computer age and return to the
cel animation age, which is counterproductive. The computers are doing
distributed rendering (making animation a la Pixar), and some of the renders
take up to 6 weeks to complete 150,000 frames of animation, so turning the
machines off isn't practical.

I can only offer this. I think you'll be best off to find the loads that run 24/7 and concentrate on
reducing them. Even a small improvement helps a lot with 24/7 loads. This is obviously your
computer equipment. Can computing tasks be concentrated to a single computer at certain times of
they day so another could be shutdown or at least put in power save mode? Are you utilizing the
power saving features of the OS? Is it possible to buy a single larger computer instead of several
smaller ones? Can you use a different type of disk drive that that allows you to use fewer but
faster disk drives (SCSI or Fiber Channel)? Are there interface boards in your computer that you
don't use that can be removed? Can you use fewer monitors and use a video switch or KVM to allow
them to go away (or at least be powered totally off 99% of the time)?

The only other thing I can see from a system point of view is that the computer is driven by DC. You
have losses in the power supply converting the AC to DC. You have even more losses since you're
using a UPS going from AC to DC to AC and then the computer goes to DC. I don't know if you could
buy a power supply or would have to make it (since you need multiple voltages at a rather heavy
current), but a DC battery system that provides DC to your computers may save some conversion
losses. Solar generation is also DC and you could gain some free electricity that way.

I'd focus on finding a way to get external free DC into the UPS battery system or a separate
computer power supply. If you add a lot of battery capacity, you may be able to rig a controller
that removes AC from the UPS and runs off the batteries. Do this when the sun is just beginning to
shine and continue to run from the batteries until they are some percent depleted (perhaps 40%?). At
that point, switch the AC back on to charge them back up. Finding an off the shelf system that works
well this way may be a challenge. But the hoepower people may have equipment that works more for
what you're trying to do rather than a UPS.

If you only improve the computer power system by 20%, your overall power bill will probably be
reduced by about 15%.

--
Mark
Kent, WA