In most cases, air distribution in data centers involves mixing of cooled air with air that has been heated by the IT equipment making it difficult to supply the cool air to where it is needed and resulting in inefficient heat transfer to the cooling system.
Technologies
Reducing energy consumption in data centers relies on the use of energy-efficient technologies and systems. Click the technologies listed below for tips on improving performance and purchasing new.
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Monitoring and controls are essential to effective energy management. Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) is a comprehensive approach that has received increasing attention in the last few years. |
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Computations per watt is improving, but computation demand is increasing even faster, so overall energy use is increasing. The lifetime electrical cost will soon exceed cost of IT equipment. However, IT equipment load can be controlled. |
Liquid cooling is valuable in reducing energy consumption because the heat capacity of liquids is orders of magnitude larger than that of air and once heat has been transferred to a liquid, it can be removed from the datacenter efficiently. |
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UPS, Front-end AC-DC power supplies, and DC-DC converters are three important conversion processes for powering of servers and other IT loads. Improving the efficiency of these processes can significantly improve the overall energy efficiency of a data center. Storage is a parallel area of importance. |
Most data centers are overcooled and have humidity control issues, which is a valid concern as room temperature and humidity are two of the main HVAC energy drivers. |
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Many opportunities exist to reduce energy consumption of cooling equipment including raising the chilled water temperature; air, water, or refrigerant-based economizers, and all-variable-speed plants. |
Lighting controls, efficient lighting, and use of task lighting are all widely deployed in commercial buildings and can easily result in savings for the data center. |