Tips to Maximize the Energy Efficiency of Data Centers

From a study commissioned by the EPA, the amount of energy used by servers across the United States in 2006 was estimated at 61 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh).  This 61 billion number is estimated to be twice the amount of power consumed by servers in 2000.  It was also predicted that in the next 5 years (ending in 2011) that power consumption would nearly double again unless significant changes in technology and design were made.

When you consider the above, it's a little ironic how many companies tout that you can "Go Green" by going online.  The adage holds true if your company has procured energy efficient servers for your operations and has utilized the best practices available in server collocation design strategies.  While not using paper is beneficial for trees, relying on online communications is not without a downside if the fuel powering this work comes, for example, from coal, which in turn is mined through mountain top removal. Further, coal plants emit not only CO2 but a slew of other harmful emissions, which contribute to global warming and pollution.

So what can you do?

You'll want to check out Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's "Best Practices Checklist" for optimizing energy efficiency and facility performance for data centers.  You can also read an in-depth report published by Energy Design Resources [download].

1. Mechanical: Airflow Management
2. Mechanical: Air Handler Systems
3. Mechanical: Humidification
4. Mechanical: Plant Optimization
5. IT Equipment: Selection
6. Electrical Infrastructure
7. Lighting
8. Commissioning and Retrocommissioning

How we're doing our part...

Michigan Energy Options recently invested in a new energy efficient server for the organization.  While low energy consumption was a key criteria when we selected our server, during periods of low server activity, it will also spin down unneeded computer processor cores to save even more energy.