By: Phil Britt
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that utility costs for U.S. computer servers rose to $7.4 billion in 2010, up from $4.5 billion only five years earlier.
As data use mushrooms due to the growth in text messaging, video, audio, and other information,
the demands on data center equipment grow – meaning more power to operate and to cool the
servers.
In addition to attempting to control costs, data centers are seeking greener operations because
some are in areas, like in San Francisco’s central business district, that have no more available
power. Even in those areas where power is relatively abundant, there is recognition that the costs
and demand curves are continuing to increase quickly, so conservation methods are necessary to
slow down the growth.
The power demand issues are not limited to the U.S. Even in France, where less expensive
nuclear power is abundant and relatively inexpensive, companies such as Warsaw-based
Comarch are employing power conservation strategies in building data centers.
“Since 2009, we have observed a significant increase of interest in investing in IT centers. A
few of the reasons are an explosion of smart phones, video and mobile application, inflation
of corporate data, overflow of existing servers, growing outsourcing market in services and
externalizations, trends associated with SaaS and cloud,” says Marcin Florek, Comarch Project
Manager.
Strategies to continue to meet the demand for processing power while attempting to be as
green as possible include virtualization and equipment upgrades, hot air containment, running
data centers “hotter,” using an increasing amount of natural air cooling, and increased use of
renewable energy resources.
Prior to 2004, data centers were kept at relatively low temperatures, around 68 degrees, per
recommended guidelines from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). In 2004, ASHRAE raised those guidelines to 77 degrees.
After further study in 2008, the ASHRAE raised the recommendation to 81 degrees, and now is
looking to raise the recommendation even higher.
Virtualization helps by cutting the number of servers by as much as a 10-1 ratio – reducing the
floor space needing to be powered and cooled while also operating the remaining servers more
efficiently, says Bill Kosik, HP Technology Services Principal Data Center Energy Technologist.
Older, not-virtualized servers still consumed energy even when operating at very low levels,
meaning wasted energy.
“We took an approach, as a whole, to look at what is driving energy waste,” adds Ron Mann,
HP Director of Engineering, Data Center Infrastructure. “Many companies just stop at the rack. We looked at anything that caused inefficiencies, from the UPS to the conversion technology to
redundant power supplies.”
Among the discoveries that HP is using in designing new data center facilities was that indirect
cooling and variable speed fans permitted more efficient temperature control. More efficient
UPS and conversion systems reduced power loss when converting from AC to DC power.
Monitoring and automated systems power down systems when underutilized or not in use.
