Data Center Energy Efficiency: Turning Challenges into Opportunities
From the Fall 2008 issue of Energy Matters
Data center operators are implementing energy-efficient measures in the face of rapidly escalating energy consumption.
Saving energy in data centers is critical in the face of rapidly growing information technology demands. Through Save Energy Now, DOE's Industrial Technologies Program is developing resources to help data center operators identify opportunities to increase capacity and reliability, save energy and costs, and reduce environmental impacts.
Who could have predicted the explosive growth of computers in our society, with the advent of digital information technology? Because of this, servers and data centers are central to the operation of our economy, processing volumes of digital information to meet global business demands.
But, managing escalating information technology (IT) demand comes at a cost—rapidly increasing energy use for power, storage, and cooling needs. In 2006, data centers used 61 billion kWh of electricity, or 1.5% of all U.S. electricity consumption—double the amount used in 2000. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) predicts that national energy consumption by servers and data centers could double again by 2011 to more than 100 billion kWh, or an annual electricity cost of $7.4 billion. This surge in electricity use increases costs, emissions, burden on the power grid, and capital costs for construction of new data centers. However, by taking steps to measure data center energy use and apply best energy management and design practices, energy consumption could be alleviated.
I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Turning Challenges into Energy-Saving Opportunities
The unprecedented growth of data centers presents an enormous opportunity to examine energy use at both the system and individual component level, which could lead to changes in the way we power and cool data centers. This includes R&D and application of energy-efficient technologies for servers, storage, network equipment, and site infrastructure. In addition, public and private sector collaboration is essential in assessing current performance, demonstrating best practices, developing new approaches and technologies, implementing incentive programs, and developing voluntary industry certification programs to influence energy use in data centers.
640K (of memory) ought to be enough for anybody.
Bill Gates, 1981
Increasingly, companies, utilities, and government agencies are focusing efforts to improve data center performance. To assist with these efforts, DOE's Save Energy Now has assembled a comprehensive program of energy assessments, metrics, software tools, training and partnerships.
Developing Energy-Efficient Solutions for Data Centers
Save Energy Now aims to reduce energy use in U.S. data centers 10% by 2011, building on the successful program in the manufacturing sector. To meet this ambitious goal, Save Energy Now is actively targeting energy savings potential in four main data center areas:
Save Energy Now's strategy focuses on these activities to help companies reduce energy use:
- Energy assessment protocols and methodologies for data centers to pinpoint energy and cost savings opportunities. Save Energy Now is assisting industry with the techniques and software tools to use uniform metrics and a systems approach that will identify near and long-term savings opportunities. Read a new assessment summary (PDF 303 KB) on energy and cost savings identified at Lucasfilm, which has identified annual energy savings opportunities of more than 3 million kWh, and cost savings of more than $343,000 per year. Download Adobe Reader.
- Metrics to benchmark and track performance of overall data center energy intensity including IT and infrastructure; cost, Btu, and carbon emissions.
- Data Center Energy Profiler (DC Pro) software is a key energy assessment tool. DC Pro measures how energy is being used in the data center, identifies potential energy and cost savings, and provides a comparison to other data centers' energy use. The tool provides an overview of a company's energy purchases, data center energy use, savings potential, and a list of specific actions you can investigate to realize these savings.
- Qualified Specialists program to certify data center efficiency experts to assist data centers with energy assessments. Learn more about DOE's Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) Qualified Specialists.
- Training curriculum for data center personnel. DOE will work with industry to develop an awareness training curriculum to help data center professionals assess performance, identify improvement opportunities and implement best energy management and design practices.
"The DOE Save Energy Now program is working with industry to drive a 10% improvement in data center energy efficiency by 2011," says Paul Scheihing, ITP Technology Manager. "We are developing a comprehensive tool suite that will be backed by training so that the market can more effectively reduce the total cost of ownership for data centers using a systems and facility-wide energy management approach."
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Working Together to Meet Challenges
Developing public/private partnerships is vital to accelerating industry adoption of technologies and best energy management practices in data centers. In 2007, DOE teamed up with The Green GridTM, a nonprofit group of IT companies, equipment manufacturers, data center operators, and designers. This collaboration aims to increase efficiency of data centers by implementing energy management programs, adopting clean energy technologies, and promoting continual efficiency improvements. Learn about the partnership.
Furthermore, DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined forces in the National Data Center Energy Efficiency Information Program (PDF 225 KB), which integrates activities from the Save Energy Now initiative, Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), and the ENERGY STAR program. Download Adobe Reader. This voluntary program will also engage industry stakeholders to develop and disseminate technical and information tools to industry.
To help launch this partnership, DOE and EPA held the National Data Center Energy Efficiency Strategy workshop on July 8, 2008, in Redmond, Washington. More than 150 industry and government leaders met to identify next steps for collaborating to improve efficiency in data centers. The resulting report, Energy Efficiency in Data Centers: Recommendations for Government-Industry Coordination (PDF 320 KB), details the discussions and recommendations for leveraging government, industry, utility and other stakeholder activities. Download Adobe Reader. It also includes a series of papers highlighting current trends in data centers energy efficiency. Learn more and view presentations from the workshop.
Strategies to Reduce Energy Demand
Read the related article, "Applying Solutions to Real-World Data Centers", which describes the 2008 Data Center Demonstration project. In this endeavor, a team of technology partners and operators tested energy-saving technologies and best practices in real-world commercial data centers. Learn about the technology initiatives and results.
Growing energy demand to power U.S. data centers means rising costs for businesses, strain on the nation's power grid, and increased environmental emissions. Many organizations are taking steps to reduce energy use, increase capacity, and enhance reliability by adopting energy-efficient technologies, practices, and standards. Through a strategy of partnerships, assessment tools, metrics development, and training, DOE's Save Energy Now can help data centers meet these challenges.
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