The emphasis on going green in the data center is mounting. A question frequently being asked "where do we start our efforts?" to get the biggest return on green investments. An energy assessment identifying where your energy goes in the data center is a good starting point. In the absence of doing your own study, the following industry averages can be helpful to determine where to attack first.
- Power usage breakdown in typical data center:
- Chiller – 33%
- IT gear – 30% (servers = 35%, storage = 30%, all other devices = 35%)
- UPS – 18%
- Computer room AC – 9%
- PDUs, humidifier, room lighting, security features etc. = 10%
- Average cost to build a Tier 3 data center $480 per square foot
- Electricity consumed by hi-density blade servers >7kW/rack and > 30kW/enclosure
- Annual average increase in electricity rates to consumer 20-40% depending on geography
- Who gets the IT energy bill? Facilities team pays – 56%, IT team pays 3%, IT team is aware of bill but doesn't pay 21%
- Recommended data center power consumption level is 50-100 watts per square foot for building a new Tier 3 data center
Action Item: With all the focus on going green today, it's important to get started on a green strategy for IT. Organizations should perform an assessment of current power consumption, forecast requirements and identify gaps. Without a strategy, some businesses risk running out of power or being forced to add another data center to access sufficient energy for their IT needs.
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