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Improving energy efficiency in the data centre
Energy efficiency in the data centre used to be an afterthought, if it was on the radar at all. By Craig Watkins, Product Manager, Rack & Cooling Solutions, Tripp Lite.
“IT MADE SENSE AT THE TIME,” says Craig Watkins, product manager for rack and cooling solutions at Tripp Lite. The cost of powering a rack server during its operational lifespan can easily exceed the hardware cost of the server, so we don’t just consider the speed of the server anymore – we need to know how much speed we get for each watt that is consumed. Today, data centre managers need to keep a close eye on energy costs. According to the Uptime Institute’s 2013 Data Centre Survey, 61% of respondents, worldwide, said reducing energy use was “very” important, and 82% said the primary motivation was cost reduction.
While reducing power consumption in a data centre environment can seem like an arduous task, there are a few simple steps that you can take when it comes to cooling efficiency and the implementation of PDUs with remote monitoring capabilities that help will lead you to the energy and money savings that many are now looking for.
An Uptime Institute study found that up to 70% of data centre energy use is for cooling and air handling, so increasing cooling efficiency is vital to reducing costs. “It used to be that if your data centre felt uncomfortably cold, people were impressed. It was considered a sign that you were doing a good job keeping servers from overheating. Rack densities were lower, electricity was
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www.dcseurope.info I Winter 2013
cheaper and nobody was paying attention to the electric bill” said Watkins. “Now that attitude has dramatically changed and if you start with the low-hanging fruit you’ll be surprised how much you can save with a few simple steps.”
1. Implement hot-aisle/Cold-aisle “You don’t need to keep your data centre at meat locker temperatures,” states Watkins. “Instead, concentrate on removing hot air from the room before it recirculates.” Separating hot and cold air is the key to cooling efficiency. Start by arranging racks in rows so the fronts face each other in cold aisles and the backs face each other in hot aisles. That prevents servers from drawing in hot air from servers in the adjacent row. According to studies by TDI Data Centres, hot- aisle/cold-aisle configurations can reduce energy use up to 20%. Tripp Lite’s SmartRack™ enclosures are optimized for hot-aisle/cold-aisle.
2. Install blanking panels When planning your data centre cooling strategy, the use of blanking panels in empty rack spaces can greatly improve rack cabinet cooling at a fraction of the cost of forced heat removal or supplemental air conditioning. Energy Star has included blanking panels as key devices for efficient airflow control in server rooms. Rack enclosures are designed for front-to-rear airflow. Cool air flows through the perforated front door and cools your equipment, which exhausts warm air through the perforated rear doors. Airflow management prevents warm air from recirculating and contaminating cool air.
Block empty rack spaces with blanking panels to prevent heat recirculation.
3. Organize cables “Tangled cables block airflow,” says Watkins. “They prevent efficient cold air distribution under raised floors and cause heat to build up inside enclosures.” In raised-floor environments, move cabling to
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