Executive Summary
- Data centre’s power consumption is a widely debated topic with sustainability spotlight intensifying, so what if they went on an energy diet?
- An energy diet would consist of analysing their current power usage and identifying ways to unlock more capacity in their infrastructure.
- In this article, we explore how data centres can reduce the overconsumption of energy with their existing limitations and create more room for growth.
Data centres currently consume around 1.5% of the world’s energy each year and it’s on course to more than double by 2030. It’s not a surprise then that energy is a widely debated, hot topic buzzing around the industry right now and while the focus remains on finding alternative renewable energy sources that can reliably sustain data centre power demands, what if, in the meantime, data centres went on an energy diet?
I’m not talking about a crash diet, but choosing to use their fuel smarter and analyse how they can reduce their energy consumption here and there – it all adds up. Here are three ways data centres can eat smarter to unlock more capacity in their infrastructure.
Portion control (aka infrastructure that’s the ‘right’ size)
Overprovisioned systems end up consuming more energy than necessary, which contributes to a higher carbon footprint and the grid constraint we’re facing now. One of the reasons infrastructure has been overprovisioned is the growth of AI and the consequences that have on power demand and demand for data centre infrastructure that can handle high-density workloads.
If operators would align their cooling, space and power with actual outputs required and utilise modular, “right-sized” UPS systems and cooling units, this results in reduced need to build excessively upfront and allows capacity to be scaled incrementally.
This strategy thus creates new headroom for growth and capacity to scale without excessively drawing from the grid.
Calorie counting (aka know what you’re consuming)
To gain more insight into strategies you can use to reduce unnecessary energy consumption, the first step is to gain awareness of your current usage. You can’t run before you can walk and you certainly can’t optimise what you don’t measure. Using PUE, power usage effectiveness, is just one step for this awareness, but it must move beyond that to monitoring real load and identifying inefficient sectors in the facility. Better data will enable better planning around energy use.
Efficiency is often thought of and framed as a growth constraint because of the demand on power lines, but it can, instead, create room for growth. A smarter energy diet can pave the way for data centres to reduce their consumption within their existing limits, strengthen resilience and plan confidently for the future.
