2 April 2024
A green data center, or sustainable data center, is a facility that houses IT infrastructure and uses energy-efficient technologies to optimize energy use and minimize environmental impact.
Organizations use green data centers to achieve greater energy and resource efficiency, longer infrastructure lifecycles, reduce data center costs and minimize carbon impact. One way this is achieved is by repurposing or recycling physical equipment and the heat generated by computing systems. Green data centers also often use energy sourced from renewable sources like solar and wind power. The overarching objective is to prioritize data center efficiency and environmental sustainability by employing intelligent approaches to energy.
Data center sustainability is an important part of optimizing organizational resource usage and promoting long-term viability. The adoption of energy-efficient measures helps organizations cut costs by reducing the overall energy consumption of data centers.
By embracing technologies such as virtualization, energy-efficient hardware and renewable energy sources in data centers, organizations can optimize energy use, minimize waste and save money.
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Organizations have long grappled with the energy consumption challenges that accompany traditional data centers, which can lead to increased operational costs and a notable environmental impact.1 These facilities typically house numerous servers (and other IT equipment) that use substantial amounts of electricity for computing, networking and data storage functions.
Measuring energy efficiency
Power usage effectiveness (PUE)
One metric used to assess the efficiency of data centers is power usage effectiveness (PUE). PUE, and carbon usage effectiveness—CUE—are metrics developed by The Green Grid, a non-profit association focused on advancing energy efficiency.
PUE is calculated by dividing total data center energy consumption by the amount of energy used specifically for IT equipment. The nearer the quotient to 1, the greater the efficiency. PUE is an effective tool for both measuring current efficiency and gauging the efficiency impact of any changes to the data center.
Carbon usage effectiveness (CUE)
Carbon usage effectiveness is used to assess data center sustainability regarding carbon emissions. The formula is: CUE = CO2 emissions caused by total data center energy divided by the energy consumption of IT computing equipment.
There are various strategies and components used in the design, development and operation of efficient data centers:
Green data centers prioritize compact and efficient designs to minimize the overall physical space required for construction. Such an approach to data center design not only conserves resources but also helps reduce the environmental footprint of the facility.
Green data centers opt for low-emission materials and practices that help ensure that the building process itself minimizes the release of harmful substances into the environment. Throughout construction and into operation, green data centers incorporate energy-efficient infrastructure elements. From lighting systems to construction machinery, practitioners make efforts to reduce energy consumption and promote sustainability.
Green data centers also implement strategies to minimize construction waste, with a focus on recycling materials and responsibly managing discarded items.
Efficient cooling systems play a crucial role in addressing energy consumption challenges within data centers. Traditional facilities often rely on air conditioning systems to cool servers and prevent overheating. However, these systems can be energy-intensive, contributing significantly to overall power usage. Implementing advanced cooling technologies, such as liquid cooling or precision cooling, helps improve energy efficiency by optimizing temperature control and reducing the workload on traditional air conditioning.
In air cooling, cold air is circulated around the equipment to absorb heat. Air cooling is a traditional and cost-effective method suitable for smaller data centers but might struggle with high-density heat loads.
Liquid cooling uses a liquid (often water) to transfer and dissipate heat. Liquid cooling offers greater efficiency in handling high-density heat, providing precise temperature control and reduced energy consumption. However, it requires specialized infrastructure and maintenance.
One innovative approach to enhance the sustainability of data centers involves the use of waste heat for additional energy benefits. Rather than considering waste heat as a drawback, data centers use it for beneficial purposes.
One method is cogeneration, or combined heat and power (CHP), where waste heat is captured and used to generate additional electricity or provide heating for other processes. This both improves overall energy efficiency and maximizes the utility of the energy generated within the data center.2
Hot aisle and cold aisle containment strategies can also help facilitate more efficient cooling in data centers. These strategies involve organizing server racks to optimize airflow and minimize the mixing of hot and cold air. In a hot aisle containment setup, server racks face each other, with the hot exhaust air directed into a contained aisle.
Cold aisle containment involves arranging server racks so that cold air intakes face each other, creating a contained cold aisle. Cold aisle containment helps improve cooling efficiency, reduce the workload on cooling systems and ensure a more predictable and uniform temperature distribution. This contributes to overall energy savings in data center operations.3
Virtualization allows multiple virtual servers to run on a single physical server, consolidating workloads and improving resource usage. By maximizing the use of existing hardware, virtualization reduces the number of physical servers needed, leading to less energy consumption and a more efficient data center infrastructure.
Green data centers emphasize responsible computing, or the optimization of workloads and resource use. This emphasis helps reduce or eliminate wasted space and enables organizations to make more energy-efficient use of infrastructure resources.
The integration of renewable energy sources into the power supply of data centers is an important step toward achieving sustainability goals and reducing the environmental impact of these facilities. By shifting from conventional power sources, such as fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases when burned, to renewable sources like solar, wind or hydropower, data centers can decrease their reliance on non-renewable energy.
This transition aligns with broader efforts to combat climate change and promotes a cleaner, more sustainable energy mix. Reducing carbon emissions and minimizing carbon footprint are fundamental objectives in the pursuit of more sustainable data center operations.
Sustainable data centers emphasize the reuse and optimization of IT equipment as part of their eco-friendly practices. Instead of discarding and replacing hardware, these centers extend the lifespan of IT equipment through upgrades, refurbishments and efficient maintenance.
Sustainable data centers place a strong emphasis on responsible recycling practices.4 When hardware reaches the end of its operational life, responsible recycling allows for the proper disposal of hazardous materials, and the recovery of reusable components for recycling initiatives.
Data center infrastructure management encompasses many of these initiatives. DCIM provides a centralized platform for monitoring and managing various aspects of data center infrastructure, including power distribution, cooling systems and IT assets.
DCIM tools monitor power consumption through the continuous tracking and analysis of energy usage within a data center. By employing advanced monitoring tools, data center operators can gain insights into the distribution and usage of power across various components, including servers, cooling systems and lighting. This real-time visibility allows for proactive identification of inefficiencies and the implementation of optimization strategies.
Certifications play a pivotal role in recognizing and promoting sustainable practices within data centers. Notable certifications and associations include:
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
LEED is a certification that highlights a commitment to environmentally responsible building and operational practices. Achieving LEED certification involves meeting specific criteria related to energy efficiency, water usage, materials selection and overall environmental impact.
Energy Star
Energy Star is a program established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) to promote energy efficiency. Products that bear the label meet or exceed energy-efficiency criteria set by these agencies. The focus is on maintaining function and quality while significantly reducing energy consumption.
The Green Grid
The Green Grid is a non-profit association that focuses on advancing energy efficiency in data centers and business computing environments. Founded in 2007, The Green Grid brings together industry professionals, including IT experts, vendors and end-users, to collaboratively address the environmental impact of data center operations. The organization provides resources, guidelines and standards to promote sustainable practices and enhance energy efficiency across the data center industry.
Cloud computing has the potential to help reduce energy consumption since it allows multiple users to share the same physical servers and applications. However, the positive impact of cloud computing isn’t guaranteed; it depends on several factors.
On the positive side, cloud computing enables the consolidation of computing resources in centralized data centers operated by cloud service providers. This consolidation results in more efficient resource usage, reducing the overall energy consumption associated with individual businesses running their own servers on-premises.
Cloud providers can optimize workloads, allocate resources dynamically, and implement energy-efficient technologies, contributing to energy savings on a larger scale. Energy-efficient hardware and cooling technologies go a long way in determining the scale of this upside.
On the negative side, the rise of cloud computing has contributed greatly to global data center growth and substantial energy consumption. The 2023 US Data Center Market Overview Report notes that data center power consumption at the end of the decade is on track to double its 2022 level, propelled by demand for AI and machine-learning ready racks.5 Transferring data to and from the cloud is also an energy intensive process, particularly when data centers are far from users.
To make a net positive impact, organizations must emphasize workload optimization, and make using resources efficiently and avoiding idle waste priorities in their cloud strategy. They must use a provider with a distributed network of data center storage and servers located closer to users. This reduces the energy costs of data transfers. And organizations must invest in energy-efficient hardware and infrastructure (or work with a provider that does) and emphasize data transfer efficiency.
The overall impact often depends on the energy efficiency of a cloud provider’s data center operations. Organizations that want to pursue a green energy strategy must keep that in mind.
Green data centers help address the growing concerns surrounding energy consumption, environmental impact and sustainability. Green data centers offer a number of incentives, including:
- Cost savings: Green data centers contribute to reduced operational costs due to improved energy efficiency and resource optimization.
- Reduced environmental impact: By incorporating eco-friendly practices in construction and operation, green data centers help reduce carbon footprints, minimize electronic waste and preserve natural resources.
- Greater energy efficiency: Green data centers use less power, reducing overall energy consumption and the associated environmental impact.
- Increased sustainability: The emphasis on equipment reuse, responsible recycling and sustainable construction helps ensure the long-term sustainability of data centers.
Resources
Discover how to turn sustainability insights into action and take the next steps to harness the power of generative AI.
Get an inside look at the trends shaping the world of sustainable business—and the insights that can help drive transformation.
Identify the best asset performance management (APM) software that fits your needs.
When you embed sustainability, it becomes a business transformation accelerator versus what it is in so many organizations—a reporting or accounting exercise.
Footnotes
All links reside outside ibm.com
1“Cost, environmental impact, and resilience of renewable energy under a changing climate: a review,” Ahmed I. Osman, Lin Chen, Mingyu Yang, Goodluck Msigwa, Mohamed Farghali, Samer Fawzy, David W. Rooney & Pow-Seng Yap, Springer Link, 28 October 2022
2“Combined Heat and Power Basics,” Energy.gov
3“Green Power Partnership,” EPA.gov
4“Re-use, refurb, recycle: Circular economy thinking and data center IT assets,” Dan Swinhoe, Data Center Dynamics, 08 March 2022
5“Newmark: US data center power consumption to double by 2030,” Matthew Goodwin, Data Center Dynamics, 15 January 2024
