Data center energy efficiency metrics are key performance indicators used to measure a data center's energy consumption and efficiency to help it maximize performance.

Since the data center industry is an energy-hungry segment of almost every organization worldwide, energy efficiency is urgently needed to harness the best outcome out of their data center facilities, work with environmental consciousness, and reduce carbon footprint without hampering operations.

Therefore, to achieve this goal, data centers use efficiency metrics that help them visualize the performance of various data center components. Further, it also helps them offer 100% uptime to attract customers amidst the competitive ecosystem of the data center industry.

Now, let us briefly examine the data center energy efficiency metrics used to analyze energy efficiency across the facility.

How Much is The Energy Consumption of a Data Center Facility?

Since data centers work with heavy-duty IT equipment, Cooling systems, and 24*7 working servers, they consume approximately 30 times more energy than any other traditional office buildings.

According to a report by Advances in Science, Technology, and Engineering Systems (ASTES) Journal, more than half of the energy consumption is attributed to IT equipment, and over 30% energy consumption is due to the cooling systems, other than that electrical and lightning and electric distribution amounts to only 15% of the total consumption.

Data Center Energy Efficiency Metrics

Initially, the companies calculate the total power consumption of the data center facility.

The total energy consumption (EDC) is measured as : 

Where N = total number of energy-consuming units

Ei = amount of energy consumed by a unit ‘i’

How Does Energy Flow Inside a Data Center Facility?

First, energy from all the sources flows to the data center power delivery system (PDS), such as UPS, remote power panel, generators, power distribution units(PDUs), etc.

Further, the energy flow to various IT equipment such as servers, storage systems, networking systems, cooling systems, security systems, automation units, and fire systems, etc

Key Metrics Used to Measure Data Center Efficiency

The data center energy metrics reflect how efficient various systems are. This is calculated with the use of certain specific formulas to analyze the energy efficiency by multiple segments of the data center facility, such as:

• Site infrastructure

• Physical space utilization

• Peak power load per cabinet 

• Power usage effectiveness 

• IT equipment efficiency 

• IT equipment utilization 

• Power and data ports availability metrics

Let us explore what the above-mentioned energy efficiency metrics mean.

Along with energy efficiency metrics, another important data center metric emerging today is the sustainability metrics. Due to stringent environmental compliance, organizations have shifted to a more environmentally friendly solution to resolve data center performance challenges.

Let us learn more about the sustainability metrics.

Sustainability Metrics

According to the IEA, data centers accounted for upto 1% of the total global energy consumption in 2020. In contrast, the data center industry currently takes up approximately 2%  of the world’s total energy consumption, and it is forecasted that by 2030, it will reach up to 8%.

Such significant energy consumption amounts to an increased carbon footprint and overuse of natural resources such as water.

This presents the dire need to change our energy sources to a much more sustainable and green approach.

Sustainability is defined as the development that caters to the current requirements without jeopardizing future generations, to satisfy their needs.

Various metrics are beneficial in analyzing a data center's sustainability ratio.

This current family of data center energy efficiency and data center sustainability metrics fails to holistically cover the existing measures of energy consumption, due to which a new family of data center energy efficiency metrics have emerged which is known as ‘multidimensional data center metrics.

Multidimensional Data Center Metrics

The existing data center energy efficiency matrix has failed to incorporate all the possible and existing energy consumption measures fully. Moreover, the existing metrics fail to incorporate the risk of failure involved in the operations of a data center.

For example, all the above-mentioned metrics can show high performance indicators, but at the same time, they can also involve a high risk of failure. 

This gap between high performance and risk of failure needs to be covered with a more comprehensive study of the data center operations.

According to a study by Advances in Science, Technology, and Engineering Systems ( ASTES), a new family of measurement metrics can holistically cover this gap and present us with a more comprehensive analysis, including the associated risks.

This new scorecard includes the following metrics: 

• Productivity 

• Operations

• Efficiency

• Risks( both external and internal)

• Sustainability

Ways to Optimize Data Center Energy Efficiency

There can be several ways to optimise data centre energy efficiency, some of them are mentioned below: 

• Sourcing energy from renewable energy resources such as wind, hydroelectric, solar, etc., will help data centers minimize their energy costs and optimize their energy efficiency.

• Using modern energy-efficient server solutions to harness the power of technology to aid optimization.

• Power management and monitoring systems can help data centers monitor and analyze real-time power distribution and usage activity insights.

• Ventilation systems can help minimise heat and improve the efficiency of cooling systems without increasing heat load.

• Diversifying the energy sources can also help data centers maintain a hybrid power source and reduce downtime and risk of failure.

• Using a Data center infrastructure Management (DCIM) system can advance the tracking procedure of a data center, provide a better analysis mechanism, and establish an automated machine response system that will prove to be more efficient than traditional monitoring systems.

• Using high-tech cooling systems designed for heavy workload can help data centers optimize their cooling efficiency.

Conclusion

Maximizing the data center's performance and harnessing the potential return on investment (ROI) while keeping sustainability standards and compliances in mind are critical in today's era.

Data center facilities have evolved to be more than just physical facilities; they have become a living, breathing, energy-eating facility that needs optimization to function correctly, and for this, data center energy efficiency metrics are essential to analyze and modify new strategies and to create a vision related to performance and risk visualization.

Moreover, emerging technological advancements such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, automation, etc, will contribute to a smarter and more sustainable operation of the data center sector that will, in turn, open investment opportunities for big IT giants to innovate and develop a future-proof technology.

FAQs

What is a good PUE for data centres?

The ideal power usage effectiveness for data centres is 1.0, where the IT equipment utilises all the power.

What is the PUE scale for data centers?

The PUE scale ranges from 1.0 to 3.0, of which 1.0 is the ideal efficiency, <1.2 is highly efficient, 1.2- 1.5 is efficient, 1.5- 2.0 is average efficiency, 2.0- 3.0 is less efficient, and >3.0 is inefficient.

How to calculate PUE in data center?

PUE = total data center power / IT equipment power consumption.

Also Read: What is a Green Data Center?: A Detailed Analysis

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