The new generation of data center facilities is digital factories with a sophisticated level of automation and control. They use the latest building technologies and resource-saving tools to optimise their energy efficiency. Green Data Center Innovations Deliver Increased Efficiency, Reduced Costs and Minimized Risk

Green Data Center Innovations Deliver Increased Efficiency

Energy-efficient servers and other IT equipment are a cornerstone of green data centers. The most energy-efficient server architecture is the microserver, which has given rise to cloud computing and virtualization.

Server manufacturers are working on new designs for processors, memory modules, hard drives, and other components that require less power than those currently in use.

There are also many technologies available today that will allow you to use less electricity while maintaining the same level of performance. For example, solid-state drives (SSDs) require much less power than traditional hard disk drives (HDDs).

Free cooling

One of the most common green data center innovations is free cooling, which uses outside air for cooling purposes instead of using electricity-intensive mechanical systems like chillers and air conditioners.

This reduces operational costs and saves money on energy consumption by as much as 40%.

Free cooling can be achieved through natural air flow or chilled water systems. The main advantage of free cooling is that it eliminates the need for chillers in the data center, which improves efficiency by reducing energy consumption and lowering operating costs.

Chilled water systems are typically used to cool servers part of a blade chassis. As with free cooling, chilled water systems require less electricity than air-cooled servers.

Heat Recycling

Many data centers lose a significant amount of heat through ventilation systems that push air outside the building. However, recycling this wasted heat can reduce your energy bills while increasing efficiency.

Another innovative approach to cooling is using organic Rankine cycle (ORC) technology to generate power from waste heat produced by servers in a data center facility. ORCs harness this wasted heat energy through pipes filled with water or other fluids that absorb heat.

Newer data centers use more recent technology that allows them to recycle waste heat from their cooling systems back into their air conditioning units or other parts of the building. This reduces electrical consumption by up to 30 percent compared with older models, helping companies save money while also reducing carbon emissions by up to 80 percent.

Data Center Power Management Practices

Data center power management practices are designed to ensure that the facility operates at maximum efficiency while reducing costs.

The following are some of the most common practices:

  • Data Center Power Monitoring. A properly designed and implemented power monitoring system can help data center managers identify any potential problems before they occur, allowing them to take action before equipment is damaged or systems go down.
  • Data Center Power Distribution Monitoring. Data centers consume more than 95 percent of their total power in their servers’ rack. A properly designed and implemented power distribution monitoring system can help data center managers identify any potential problems with their local PDUs, allowing them to take action before equipment is damaged or systems go down.
  • Data Center Power Quality Monitoring and Analysis. As with any other piece of critical infrastructure, data centers must have reliable power sources that provide clean currents without surges or interruptions. If there is an interruption in the power source, a properly designed and implemented power quality monitoring system will detect it quickly so that appropriate action can be taken before damage occurs or systems go down.

Virtualization

The deployment of virtualization technology has helped data center operators to reduce energy consumption, improve energy efficiency and reduce power consumption.

Virtualization is used to create multiple operating systems on a single physical computer. Virtualization software creates a virtual machine, or VM, which acts as an independent computer running its operating system. Each VM can be configured to host one or more applications on its own operating system.

Virtualization allows for greater flexibility in terms of server utilization and reduces the total number of physical servers needed to support an organization’s computing needs. This enables organizations to reduce their power consumption and carbon footprint by consolidating their IT infrastructure onto fewer servers.

Virtualization is a critical technology that has helped improve data center efficiency. Virtualization allows for multiple operating systems to run on a single server and multiple applications on a single computer.

The use of virtualization has allowed companies to consolidate servers and reduce their energy consumption by as much as 75 percent.

Global Green Data Center Growth

The green data center is a step-by-step process involving implementing sustainable and cost-effective technologies and practices that reduce the environmental impact of running a data center. The green data center has become increasingly important as businesses strive to meet their environmental compliance obligations, reduce their carbon footprint and save costs.

A 2018 study by IDC found that the total global spending on green IT infrastructure will reach $750 billion over the next five years. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2 percent between 2018 and 2023, with spending on green IT infrastructure rising from $61 billion in 2018 to $70 billion in 2022, then reaching $75 billion in 2023.

The fastest growing markets for green IT infrastructure include Asia Pacific/Oceania (APAC), Latin America (LA), Western Europe (WE), Middle East & Africa (MEA), Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), Japan, China, and Indonesia.

Read more on: five trends in green data center technologies to watch by the CEO

Takeaway: 

The global green data center market size is expected to reach USD 111.4 billion by 2023, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. The growing adoption of green data center solutions in various industries has been the major factor driving the demand for these solutions.

Moreover, increasing awareness among end users regarding the environmental benefits of green data centers is supporting the growth of this market.

Increasing focus on lowering carbon emissions and reducing energy consumption has led to adopting green data center technologies across all segments.

These technologies are being adopted in enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) owing to their lower costs compared to conventional solutions. For instance, organizations can save up to 60% on power consumption with the help of these technologies.

Incorporating these green data center techniques can help improve the efficiency of your data centers.