Energy
Consumption,
Climate Change, and Data Centers
Climate Change, and Data Centers
What is a data center you ask? A data center is a building that houses many computer servers which store and transmit information over the internet. Every time you perform a search on Google you are sending a request to and receiving information from a data center somewhere in the world. Naturally, as the internet is operational 24/7, 365 days a year, so too are data centers.
Anyone who has used a computer can testify to the fact that they expel a lot of waste energy in the form of heat. This is why we have cooling fans in our desktop and notebook computers, to maintain air circulation and prevent the computer from overheating. Data centers are no different; servers expel waste energy as heat and require CRAC (Computer Room Air Conditioning) and HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) systems to maintain an optimal temperature for the servers and other computer equipment.
According to a study performed by Jonathan G. Koomey of Lawrence Berkley National Labs, power consumption for computer servers in the U.S.A. doubled between 2000 and 2005. It is estimated that in 2006, approximately 1.5% of all energy consumed in the U.S.A. was used by data centers [4]. Furthermore, according to reports by The Green Grid, a non-profit “global consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centers and business computing ecosystems” [5]. and consisting of such member companies as AMD, Intel, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems [6], the PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) of a typical data center is 33% [7]. This means that for every unit of energy required to run the servers and computer equipment in a data center, two more units of energy are required for HVAC or CRAC. If data centers account for 1.5% of total energy consumption in the U.S.A. at a PUE of 33% then in fact, 1% of total national energy consumption is going towards cooling and ventilation. Therefore, any gains in energy/cooling efficiency at data centers will have a substantial effect on total energy consumption and climate change. Of course a cynic may read this and point out that increases in energy efficiency will equal substantial savings in energy bills and lower operating costs for data centers. This is true and as we shall see, going green can also be quite profitable.
LIBR 500: Foundations of Information Technology, School of Library, Archival and Information Science, University of British Columbia
Neil MacDonald
November 17th, 2008