Simple measures can slash data centre operating costs
1 min read
Companies could be saving 1 million kilowatt hours simply by implementing best practices in their data centres, according to analyst Gartner.
Paul McGuckin, research vice president at Gartner says that in a conventional data centre, 35% to 50% of electrical energy consumed is for cooling – which compares with 15% in best-practice green data centres.
“Virtually all data centres waste enormous amounts of electricity, using inefficient cooling designs and systems,” he comments. “Even in a small data centre, this wasted electricity amounts to more than 1 million kilowatt hours annually, that could be saved with the implementation of some best practices.”
And the reason: the overriding reason for waste is the unconstrained mixing of cold supply air with hot exhaust air. “This mixing increases the load on the cooling system and energy used to provide that cooling, and reduces the efficiency of the cooling system by reducing the delta-T. A high delta-T is a principle in cooling,” explains. McGuckin.
Simple stuff, but Gartner has identified 11 key best practices. plug holes in the raised floor; install blanking panels; coordinate computer room air-conditioning units (CRACs); improve under floor airflow; implement hot aisles and cold aisles; install sensors where temperature problems are suspected; implement cold-aisle or hot-aisle containment; raise the operating temperature in the data centre; replace fixed speed with variable speed fans; exploit ‘free cooling’; and switch to modular cooling.
“Although most users will not be able to immediately implement all 11 best practices, all will find at least three or four that can be immediately implemented in their current data centres,” insists. McGuckin. “Savings in electrical costs of 10—30% are achievable through these most-available techniques.”
