Pre- and post-operam comparison of the energy consumption of a radio base station under energy efficiency actions

For some years now, one of the dominant issues in the telecommunications sector has been energy saving, as the continuous growth in the number of connected devices and data traffic inevitably leads to an increase in the electricity needs of the facilities involved. However, the attention is often towards the energy efficiency of products used by the end consumer and data centres, neglecting the telecommunications network that manages the entire system. Nonetheless, a smart approach toward energy behaviour of Base Tranceiver Station can give significant savings in power consumptions and environmental impact. Here we show how energy retrofit, that is the set of all operations, technologies and methodologies aimed at increasing the performance of a system that was previously inefficient, can bring to energy consumption reduction, management costs optimization, and noticeable diminution of the emissions and environmental impact of the facilities. Indeed, the present study shows the pre- and post-operam comparison of the energy monitoring of a radio base station subjected to energy efficiency actions. Energy savings for the new configuration has been monitored and analysed for some weeks in summer and early autumn. A net decrease of energy consumption was measured. Simulations for the new configuration with a thermal balance model of the shelter show energy savings over the entire year of about 20% compared to that of 2013. In addition, collected experimental data have been exploited in order to optimize the operating and shelter parameters. This suggests actions for further 5% savings in energy consumption.