Efficiency improvements for mid-size mines

[weedle622]

We have made it through summer running 1200 S15's. Had to go low power and shut off the mine when temps got over 92F. We now have some downtime and are looking for cost effective efficiency improvements + doing some risk management.

Here are a few projects we have completed:
- Improved security
- Failover internet
- Failover power/UPS

We are now working on automating exhaust fans based on facility temperatures.

We're fairly new to data center management, and I'm curious about projects others have done to improve efficiency, cooling, automation, etc.

I would love to trade ideas and potentially hire someone to audit our mine for cooling and efficiency improvements.

[1714965589]

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[1714965589]

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[mikeywith]

1200 S15's.

That's a lot of gear, the proper thing to do here would be hiring a professional straight away, don't get me wrong, you may get some good advice on forum, but for such a huge project, you should really just make use of the downtime and get a specialized company to take care of the cooling for you , the fact that you had to set low power mode and stop mining when temps are above 33c tells me that your cooling is terrible, I don't have quarter the gears you have but I managed to make it throughout the summer where temps can get above 40-45c ( that's over 113f ).

You could use a temperature controller module such as this one https://www.amazon.com/Temperature-Controller-Display-Thermostat-Waterproof/dp/B07H2X4NNR/ref=sr_1_31?keywords=temperature+sensor+relay&qid=1574123185&sr=8-31

Say you have 50 fans in total , run 10 of them direct 24/7 , use a temperature controller on a contactor that controls the MCB of say 10 fans, and set the temp to say 28c , another set of 10 fans on 30c and so on , this way you get to save on power and fan's lifespan, this is just an idea i know people use in other fields aside from mining, it's efficient and pretty cheap to set up , so you might consider it , as for all the other small details , again , hire a professional.

[weedle622]

You could use a temperature controller module such as this one https://www.amazon.com/Temperature-Controller-Display-Thermostat-Waterproof/dp/B07H2X4NNR/ref=sr_1_31?keywords=temperature+sensor+relay&qid=1574123185&sr=8-31

Say you have 50 fans in total , run 10 of them direct 24/7 , use a temperature controller on a contactor that controls the MCB of say 10 fans, and set the temp to say 28c , another set of 10 fans on 30c and so on , this way you get to save on power and fan's lifespan, this is just an idea i know people use in other fields aside from mining, it's efficient and pretty cheap to set up , so you might consider it , as for all the other small details , again , hire a professional.

That temp control module looks great. That is essentially what we are doing with automating the fans, but using a temp sensor we already have for temp alerts: https://store.wirelesstag.net/products/wireless-tag.


Fair to point us to a professional at our size, and maybe we will go that way, but I wonder if a professional is going to make up for their cost. The downtime and low power cost us around $10,000 this summer. We believe we can cut that by ~75% with some low cost improvements.

So on the cooling side it's something like this: $2500 per summer + low cost solution + labor to monitor and handle heat shutdowns vs. hiring a professional + work and materials to implement that. One reason for posting is to learn if there are a number of other efficiency improvements to be made that would warrant paying for a professional.