Dell has joined the industry advisory council of Pecan Street Inc., a nonprofit energy and smart grid research and development organization headquartered at the University of Texas at Austin. As a member company, Dell will provide technology and IT expertise to Pecan Street to advance its work in energy big data.
Pecan Street is currently conducting consumer energy research in Austin, Texas, including consumer electricity and gas use and solar and electric vehicle integration. In more than 400 homes, researchers are monitoring electricity and gas use from several circuits every 15 seconds.
Dell says such complex systems - requiring two-way communication between users, producers and transmitters of energy - rely on high-performing data management systems to provide actionable information in real time. The company is providing Pecan Street with OptiPlex and Dell Precision workstations for the project’s researchers; PowerConnect network switches; PowerVault direct-attached storage to enable easier research sharing; SonicWall back-up and recovery; and data center infrastructure, including a Dell rack, Dell power distribution unit, Dell uninterruptible power supply, and Dell rack-mounted switch and console.
“Pecan Street is conducting ground-breaking research that will shape the next generation of energy systems,” says David Lear, Dell’s executive director of sustainability. “Information technology and data management will be crucial to these smarter grids, and Dell is proud to put technology and expertise toward the goal of ensuring our energy future is efficient and sustainable.”
