While others in an organization may spearhead data center energy efficiency efforts, Facilities Managers are one of the most common project champions (especially when an organization does not have a Sustainability Manager). The facilities department is responsible for maintaining a data center’s building and infrastructure as well as replacing equipment to ensure electrical power, air flow, and cooling needs. Facilities Managers also work to assure uptime and recoverability. Facility Managers are most likely to pay (or at least see) a data center’s energy bill. Therefore, they will likely be more receptive to energy efficiency improvements, particularly if they are expected to reducing operating costs (presuming the bill comes out of their budget). Energy efficiency efforts often have the added benefit of reducing the management burden of a data center (e.g. server rooms that lack standardization can result in inefficiencies and a higher management burden for IT and Facilities staff), which can make the job of facilities managers easier. Once physical infrastructure energy efficiency gains (e.g. hot and cold aisles) have been implemented in a data center, further improvements can require significant investment and diminishing returns. For this reason, facilities managers and operators may have an amplified incentive to turn to IT energy efficiency opportunities. With the needs of IT and operations converging, there are now more natural opportunities for collaboration between the two.
Misaligned Interests (Facility Manager)
While others in an organization may spearhead data center energy efficiency efforts, Facility Managers are likely the project champion for energy efficiency measures. This means they must often align stakeholder interests with a data center energy efficiency project as well as facilitate discussion and collaboration. Facility managers often have the strongest interest in energy efficiency projects (as they typically pay the energy bill), and the misaligned interests innate to an organization (e.g. IT managers most concerned with reliability and capacity, CFOs most concerned with cost) can mean that significant time and effort is required to successfully push a project through. Facility Managers will likely need to align the interests of the IT Manager and CIO in order to implement a project. Increasingly, effective asset utilization joins the interests of both IT and Facility Managers. Through joint efforts and increased information sharing, IT and Facility Managers can find common ground.
Lack of awareness of energy usage, costs, and opportunities (Facility Manager)
While Facility Managers are most likely to be aware of a data center’s energy cost, they may not be aware of opportunities to reduce these costs. Many Facility Managers are resource constrained, particularly in organizations with small or medium sized data centers. Therefore, Facility Managers may not have the opportunity to learn about energy reduction measures and subsequent monetary benefits for data centers, including those that may be considered “low hanging fruit.”
No one person is tasked with energy efficiency (Facility Manager)
Projects are more likely to fall through the cracks (or not be initiated at all) if no one person in an organization is tasked with energy efficiency improvements. Even though implementing energy efficiency improvements is typically not part of a Facility Manager’s job description, they may take on the burden of guiding a project through internal stakeholder consensus while balancing their other roles and responsibilities within an organization. Dedicating significant time and resources can be a challenge.
Reduce operating costs (Facility Manager)
One study found that the majority (almost 80 percent) of data center energy bills are housed in the facilities budget. Thus, Facility Managers have an innate incentive to pursue energy efficiency measures that will lower energy costs.
Free up data center capacity (Facility Manager)
Freeing up capacity entails allowing more space, power, and cooling capacity to be available, all of which are a core concern and responsibility of a data center Facility Manager. Freeing up capacity allows a Facility Manager to more easily respond to needs from the IT Manager or CIO for increased computing abilities.
Comply with codes and standards and/or organizational policies (Facility Manager)
Facility Managers are often tasked with ensuring compliance for State and Federal codes and standards for new data centers as well as data center expansions or retrofits. Thus, energy efficiency measures that aid with compliance are inherently of interest.
Address aging infrastructure in need of upgrade (Facility Manager)
Given that a Facility Manager is typically responsible for maintaining a data center’s building and infrastructure, aging equipment that is near the end presents a unique opportunity to upgrade to newer, more energy efficient equipment or infrastructure (e.g. air management systems).
Leverage utility & other incentives (Facility Manager)
While capital expenditures for IT equipment most often come from the CIO/IT Manager’s budget, certain measures relative to data center infrastructure (like more efficient cooling or power distribution equipment) typically are housed in the Facilities budget. For this reason, utility or other financial incentives (e.g. rebates) for such improvements could drive a Facility Manager to undertake improvements.
No one person is tasked with energy efficiency (Facility Manager)
Projects are more likely to fall through the cracks (or not be initiated at all) if no one person in an organization is tasked with energy efficiency improvements. Even though implementing energy efficiency improvements is typically not part of a Facility Manager’s job description, they may take on the burden of guiding a project through internal stakeholder consensus while balancing their other roles and responsibilities within an organization. Dedicating significant time and resources can be a challenge.
In June 2019, The Office of Management & Budget (OMB) released updated guidance on the Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI). OMB Memorandum M-19-19 rescinds and replaces OMB Memorandum M-16-19. OMB is focused on targeting improvements in key areas where agencies can make meaningful improvements and achieve further cost savings through optimization and closures. This fact sheet summarizes DCOI practices as they relate to energy efficiency. Please reference the full OMB Memorandum for complete guidance (https://datacenters.cio.gov/policy/)
The purpose of this brief guide is to present opportunities for small data center owners and operators that generally make sense and do not need expensive assessment and analysis to justify. Recommendations presented in this report range from very simple measures that require no capital investment and little ongoing effort to those that do need some upfront funds and time to implement. The range of opportunities includes IT equipment, power, and cooling. This guide also notes the value of training for personnel involved in data center operations and management. References are also provided for further information. Author(s): Steve Greenberg, Magnus Herrlin
User's manual for the Data Center Profiler (DC Pro) Tool, V4. DC Pro estimates a data center’s current and potential Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and energy use distribution. It also provides a tailored list of recommended tasks for improvement. Results can be exported as stand-‐alone reports or for inclusion in other reporting material. The tool was reviewed by data center owners, design professionals, and product manufacturers.
The purpose of this program description is to provide information about the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) DCEP certificate training program; the target audience is those interested in participating in the Program.
Comprehensive list of recommended efficiency actions for data centers. This living encyclopedia of measures also feeds into our Data Center Profiler (DC Pro) tool to provide tailored recommendations for improvements in data center energy management.
The process manual provides administrative step-by-step instructions for conducting an energy assessment (before, during, and after the assessment). The manual is specifically designed for the DCEP training program, but it can be used by any qualified assessor conducting an energy assessment.
This white paper discusses the benefits and challenges of upgrading the data center’s infrastructure components and outlines best practices for successfully planning, implementing and testing those renovations. This paper also touches on bridging the IT-Facilities divide.
Data centers are mission-critical components of all large enterprises and frequently cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build, yet few high-level executives understand the true cost of building and operating such facilities. Costs are typically spread across the IT, networking, and facilities/corporate real-estate departments, which makes management of these costs and assessment of alternatives difficult. This paper presents a simple approach to enable C-suite executives to assess the true total costs of building, owning, and operating their data center physical facilities.
This study explores potential barriers to energy-efficiency investments in data centers through focus groups and interviews with data center managers, including split incentives, uncertainty about new technologies, and more.
Resource constrained data centers face unique challenges in their energy efficiency journey. The CoE's Small Data Center webpage recommends resources for small data centers that provide information on readily deployable, low cost, high-win strategies that can deliver robust energy savings.