Guest View: Small Steps in Energy Efficiency Result in Two Kinds of 'Green'

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AS OF 8/20/2008 9:09AM EST

Guest View: Small Steps in Energy Efficiency Result in Two Kinds of 'Green'
By Jim Smith

August 1, 2008 — When you hear the words “green data center,” what comes to mind? For many people, those words bring the other kind of green (money) to mind, but not in a positive way. They think about the “high cost of going green,” but it is a common misconception that the only way to go green is to make significant investments that undercut any cost savings from the increased energy efficiency. The notion that increased energy efficiency comes at a steep price is simply false.

In many instances, the most significant things you can do to increase energy efficiency have nothing to do with buying specialized hardware. Certainly the use of “green” hardware should be assessed as part of your data center development planning process, but placing your faith in hardware alone is like trying to kill a flea with a sledgehammer. Paying attention to small aspects of data center operations and looking closely at your data center provider’s capabilities can generate significant financial dividends, require little or no capital investment, and have immediate payoffs.

On the operations side, a company with a typical data center can achieve energy savings of 10 percent to 50 percent with just a few changes. Those include managing bypass air by sealing gaps and using blanking panels to keep hot and cold air from mixing—plus using a hot-aisle-cold-aisle layout. Another important change is to make sure set points for the ambient data center temperature are not set too low. Data centers that ordinarily run at 68 degrees can gain a 10 percent energy savings just by using a recommended set point of 74 degrees. None of these may be as sexy as a hardware-based solution, but their impact on energy usage and corresponding operating costs is undeniable.

Another key way to ameliorate the financial impact of a “green” data center involves the data center provider. A common misconception of companies seeking a new data center facility is that their provider can do very little to help them manage and reduce their energy costs. Unfortunately many customers believe a provider’s primary contribution to energy efficiency efforts is limited to designing the proper number of PDUs and CRACs and properly distributing perforated raised floor tiles. But if a customer’s data center provider is not doing more than that, the customer is unknowingly subjecting themselves to higher energy costs.

Among the issues that you should address with your data center provider are:

Do they provide the tools and data you need to efficiently manage your energy usage and understand your energy efficiency?

The components of an energy management toolset can vary among providers, but they must include power metering. By offering customers metered power, a provider bills the customer only for the power that they use, as opposed to a fixed amount. You should also inquire about your provider’s plans for adding graphical energy usage tracking capability, which enables customers to identify key trends that may then be leveraged to enhance efficiency and reduce costs. Equally important is whether your data center provider has the skill set, industry contacts and QA/QC processes to provide proper support for “green” projects.

Your provider should also be giving you data about the energy efficiency of your facility. Metrics like PUE provide a clear picture of how much power is actually driving computing/IT components (servers, for example) versus the ancillary support elements such as cooling and lighting. This information allows customers to make “apples to apples” comparisons between facilities and provides them with key information for making other green decisions.

How do they purchase power?

In a data center environment, it is important to remember that your provider is your “energy utility.” They are the ones who will invoice you for your contracted level of power, so it is important to understand what they are doing to maximize their purchasing effectiveness.

For example, the price of power typically rises and falls throughout the year due to fluctuating usage (high levels of air conditioner utilization in the summer for example). Does your provider attempt to take advantage of these fluctuations by purchasing power during non-peak times to lock in lower rates? And in unregulated markets, does your provider negotiate the most favorable rate possible thereby enabling them to pass along these savings in the form of lower energy bills? Their scale can benefit your “green” efforts through their greater leverage with utilities.

Reaping the financial benefits of “green” data center operations should not be dependent on capital-intensive hardware investments. Although in some instances they may be part of an overall strategy, they are never the only viable component. Fortunately the path to more efficient operations and their financial benefits can be reached by modifying data center operations and leaning on data center providers to support energy efficiency goals.

Jim Smith is the vice president of engineering at Digital Realty Trust.

Related Search Term(s): data centers, green computing, power

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