Boosting Data Center Efficiency
Key Sustainable Approaches
Enhancing data center efficiency is a recurring topic in customer discussions. Prioritizing energy-efficient data centers means not only saving energy but also achieving goals like reducing waste, bolstering reliability, and lowering costs. Here are essential strategies to enhance data center efficiency:
Real-Time Insights through Data Center Infrastructure Management
Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) should be seen as an ongoing process, rather than a specific tool or end goal. For a data center to excel, it’s crucial to monitor, manage, and measure assets using a comprehensive, real-time solution.
DCIM provides a collaborative platform for facilities management and IT teams. With DCIM software, administrators can monitor energy sensors and hardware, analyze power usage effectiveness (PUE), and optimize cooling system efficiency. It ensures your data center maintains peak performance.
Moreover, DCIM advances virtualization by “virtualizing” power, cooling, and space, thereby greatly enhancing energy efficiency.
Cooling Cost Reduction with Economizers
Beyond implementing processes and using monitoring tools to boost efficiency, choosing the right technology plays a vital role in overall data center efficiency. Cooling represents nearly 40% of a data center’s energy consumption, making it crucial for energy and cost savings. Today’s thermal management equipment delivers substantial savings by utilizing economizers to lower cooling expenses.
Economizer systems leverage outside air, water, or pumped refrigerant to minimize or eliminate mechanical cooling in data centers. These systems can cut energy use by up to 50% compared to older systems. Direct economizers introduce outside air, while indirect systems expel heat outside the premises.
Varieties of Indirect Economizers
- Pumped refrigerant systems
- Air-to-air heat exchangers
- Dry coolers on chilled water systems
The Liebert DSE Free Cooling System is a direct-expansion (DX) system featuring an integrated pumped refrigerant economizer, optimizing energy savings and reliability without separate economization coils. In colder ambient conditions, the refrigerant pump recirculates refrigerant instead of using the compressor, achieving energy savings. This easy installation significantly lowers the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for pumped refrigerant systems.
Innovative Data Center Design
Eco-friendly data center design aligns with IT objectives for speed, availability, and efficiency. As technology gravitates towards the edge, adaptable data center deployment becomes essential, whether via containers, modular approaches, or regional micro data centers.
Modular data centers are pre-assembled blocks, deployable swiftly compared to traditional facilities. They integrate all necessary IT, power, cooling, fire protection, and access control components.
In various settings like branch offices or compact spaces, high availability, efficiency, and rapid implementation are critical. An ideal solution for small, modular data centers is adopting an integrated system like Vertiv’s SmartRow, which bundles all essential elements. The SmartRow system can trim energy use by up to 27% compared to conventional designs.
Data center efficiency efforts vary widely. As your local Vertiv partner, we provide data center assessments, award-winning products, and expertise to save your business time and money. Reach out to us today to begin.
FAQ on Data Center Efficiency
What strategies can enhance data center efficiency?
Implementing Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) for real-time monitoring, employing economizers for cooling cost reduction, and adopting innovative data center designs such as modular data centers are key strategies.
How do economizers contribute to data center efficiency?
Economizers help reduce energy usage by leveraging outside air, water, or refrigerants to minimize mechanical cooling, offering potential energy savings of up to 50% compared to traditional systems.