Data Centers

RESOURCES: Assessment Tools • Benchmarking • Best Practices Guidelines • Bibliography • DC Power Demo • Data Centers R&D Roadmap • Demonstration Projects • India Initiative • Links • Organizations • Self-benchmarking Protocol • Training

Data centers have exhibited steady energy demand growth, and electric utilities have received sizeable requests for electrical power for new facilities. Although the demand has subsided somewhat following the dot.com bust, there are many challenges to understanding this market and large opportunity for energy efficiency improvement.

Key Areas of Research:

1. Characterize baseline energy use and savings potentials

• Develop R&D Roadmap
• Develop and document scenarios of national baseline and energy savings potential in a special report to the U.S. Congress.
• Compile and publish peer-reviewed measured data on power used by data centers. First effort in 2000-2001 under the supervision of researchers from LBNL and AT&T. One data center was followed over time, and revisited two years after the initial assessment.

2. Benchmark data centers and document best practices

• Perform in-depth energy benchmarking on actual facilities
• Identify and promulgate best practices
• Develop self-benchmarking procedures

3. Technology development and assessment

• Building Systems
  • Determine the range of current UPS efficiencies, highlight more efficient designs, and provide a means for comparing their total cost of ownership (TCO)
  • Analyze the energy efficiency savings potential and conduct a demonstration of DC power architecture for data centers
• IT Equipment
  • Document existing efficiencies of server power supplies
  • Field-test achievable energy savings from more efficient power supplies in operating server installations
  • Assess other power supply savings opportunities in data centers
  • Investigate how IT equipment energy consumption varies with computation loads (Summary) and develop quantitative metrics
  • Contribute to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency efforts to refine metrics and measurement protocols for benchmarking server performance

4. Demonstrations, information, training

• Conduct demonstration projects
• Develop assessment tools for designing energy-efficient data centers and analyzing performance
• Conducting trainings
• Identifying and promulgating best practices for cleanroom energy management
• Participating in international collaborations (e.g. with India)

5. Showcase best practices at LBNL's own facilities

• LBNL's in-house energy managers have worked with LBNL researchers for several decades on improving energy efficiency in our own high-tech facilities
• Implement best practices in LBNL's Molecular Foundry, a $65-million, 6-story building housing labs, a cleanroom, and a data center - received LEED Gold Rating