Retrofitting fans
Rising costs, legally required reduction of CO2 emissions – retrofits provide a solution.
Bangalore, often referred to as the Silicon Valley of India, is the beating heart of the country’s high-tech industry. It goes without saying that, as one of the world’s leading business and technology transformation partners, Capgemini has a presence in the southern Indian metropolis of 15 million people. With its extensive lawns and lush gardens, the state-of-the-art EPIP campus stands out among Capgemini’s locations. The green exterior is continued, in a figurative sense, in the interior of the campus. This is where the Energy Command Center (ECC) is located ‒ the nerve center of sustainable operations at Capgemini India.
Increased sustainability using data
Around the clock, the ECC receives and processes all the key energy consumption data for the buildings ‒ from the cooling tower energy requirements to the air quality in conference rooms. This makes it possible to control ventilation on the basis of demand. If the ECC’s smart algorithms detect the need for optimization, adjustments are made automatically. If an office is empty and unused, the ECC shuts down the ventilation system. If the CO₂ content of the air increases due to a high number of employees on site, it ensures the supply of fresh air. The ECC monitors the output of the rooftop solar units and, where necessary, either feeds the energy into the system or exports any unused energy.
The Energy Command Center brings together all important performance and consumption data from the buildings. This allows Capgemini India to keep an eye on the energy-savings potential of its facilities.
From precision air conditioning units for data centers to cooling towers: The ECC enables access to the operating data of the ventilation and air conditioning systems.
In short, the Energy Command Center ensures the optimum operation of the entire infrastructure of Capgemini India, from one central location, day and night. This makes it central to achieving the company’s ambitious global sustainability goals, including the carbon neutrality of its own operations by 2025.
As a company, we have set ourselves strict and ambitious targets. That’s why we have been consistently retrofitting all areas and have partnered with ebm-papst.
Viswanathan Rajendran, Capgemini
Although the ECC optimizes infrastructure management, Capgemini is also monitoring the efficiency of individual systems. From heating, ventilation and cooling systems, to cooling towers and units in data centers ‒ they all harbor huge potential for savings and are therefore the responsibility of Viswanathan Rajendran, Vice President of Engineering Services & Sustainability for Corporate Real Estate Services. “My main task is to optimize the energy efficiency of our properties. The Energy Command Center is their nerve center. We use it to gain added value, actionable insights and opportunities to optimize energy consumption,” says Rajendran. “It is particularly important to develop strategies that optimize energy consumption through deep retrofits. To plan these, we use the data collected in the Energy Command Center.”
Focus on IT companies
The optimization of existing properties is central, especially for energy-intensive infrastructure. Worldwide, a lot of energy is consumed by data centers in particular because they require perfect cooling around the clock to ensure their operational reliability. And with growing demand ‒ also due to advances in artificial intelligence ‒ consumption is continuing to increase. The need for savings is correspondingly high. “As a company, we have set ourselves strict and ambitious targets,” explains Viswanathan Rajendran. “We aim to achieve net zero by 2040, with a 90-percent reduction in Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. That’s why, for some time, we have been consistently retrofitting all areas, in addition to establishing the Energy Command Center. To achieve this, we have partnered with ebm-papst.”
Everything started with a retrofit
A close partnership has evolved between Viswanathan Rajendran and Atul Tripathi, Managing Director of ebm-papst India, over the eight years of their collaboration. “Capgemini wanted to save energy, and we were eager to bring them on board as a new customer,” shares Atul Tripathi with a smile. “In 2016, we were given an air handling unit as a pilot to demonstrate energy savings and return on investment with our EC fans.
The savings were remarkable, and the beginning of a long and successful journey of retrofits with Capgemini India.” The wide range of systems and applications that were retrofitted include air handling units, cooling towers with open and closed-loop circuits, precision air conditioning units for data centers, and even ventilation and extraction hoods in kitchens. Across these applications, well over 1,000 units of ebm-papst EC fans have been installed. Thanks to the fans’ efficiency and optimized airflow, these retrofits alone have enabled Capgemini to achieve energy savings of around 30 percent in fan operations. Impressed by these results, Capgemini plans to use ebm-papst products in all its new projects and applications.
In the first ten months since its inauguration, the ECC has helped reduce energy consumption at the eight main Indian sites by 29 percent.
Viswanathan Rajendran, Capgemini
EC fans as an important component
“We have a long catalog of criteria for the different fans that ebm-papst was able to satisfy every time,” explains Viswanathan Rajendran. “In addition to the efficiency level and operational reliability, digital connectivity is a key aspect because the Energy Command Center must receive the data in order to control the fans accordingly.” This digital component enabled Capgemini to reduce energy consumption by a further 29 percent per annum since establishing the Energy Command Center in 2022. For a global company of this size, the scale of this reduction has a corresponding significance ‒ and a truly positive impact on the environment.
29%
Savings in energy consumption at Capgemini’s eight main locations since 2022
25GWh
Electricity savings in 2023 compared to 2019
And that’s not the end of it: Generative artificial intelligence is likely to facilitate even greater reductions in the future. Viswanathan Rajendran and Atul Tripathi are also working closely in this area. “Capgemini is an absolute dream customer,” says Tripathi. “They are always open to new ideas and technologies. Beyond the savings achieved through the retrofits, they are also keen to explore the potential of our digital and IoT solutions. We are thrilled to continue this partnership into the future.” Viswanathan Rajendran underscores: “For more than eight years, ebm-papst has impressed us with its technical excellence and commitment to efficiency ‒ not only when it comes to making fans more economical, but also with its new technologies. That’s why, as two innovative companies, we are seeking to push the boundaries of innovation in our industries.”
How the Energy Command Center works
Capgemini inaugurated the Energy Command Center (ECC) at its Bangalore site in 2022. Among other things, it monitors and manages electricity and water consumption, the performance data of various ventilation systems and the air quality of the indoor spaces in real time for all Capgemini sites in India. Monitoring enables Capgemini to achieve significant energy savings and increase the operational reliability of the systems.
It also provides reliable data that Capgemini can use to verify the sustainability of its operations. The Energy Command Center has helped drive a 29-percent reduction in energy consumption across Capgemini’s eight main campuses in India, with a saving of 25 GWh of electricity in 2023 vs. 2019.
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