Page 171 -

The Greening of IT
136 How Companies Can Make a Difference for the Environment

Together, these methods can reduce cooling system energy costs by 30
percent to 45 percent and generate significant, recurring savings. Coupled
with emerging technologies such as higher-efficiency processors and new
chip-based cooling technologies, these measures can keep energy costs in line
as server densities and the price of energy continue to rise.
Until recently, little attention has been given to the cost of energy used by
IT systems. But as power consumption and electricity prices rise, energy
costs receive more scrutiny from senior-level executives seeking to manage
dollars. In fact, energy costs have now become one of the driving factors in
decisions regarding data center location and design.
A recent survey by the Data Center Users Group showed that data center
energy efficiency is fast becoming a priority in the industry, with 42 percent
of survey respondents saying they have either analyzed efficiency or are cur-
rently analyzing it. Respondents perceived significant opportunities for
energy efficiency to be in the areas of cooling equipment (49 percent), servers
(46 percent), power equipment (39 percent), and storage (21 percent).
EYP Mission Critical analyzed data center energy usage and estimated
that 50 percent of data center energy is consumed by information technology
ptg
systems. It is understood that saving 10 percent of the energy consumed by
the IT equipment will create an additional seven percent to 10 percent
energy reductions as the cooling and power distribution loads are reduced.
Thus, energy reductions in this area have a downstream effect that can almost
double savings.
A number of strategies can be evaluated for reducing IT system energy
consumption, most notably server consolidation and virtualization. For more
information on these strategies, see the Liebert white paper, “Using
Virtualization and Digital Control Technologies to Increase Data Center
Operating Efficiency,” available at www.liebert.com.

1. Proper Sealing of the Data Center Environment

Cooling losses through floors, walls, and ceilings, or the introduction of
humidity from outside the critical facility, reduce cooling system efficiency.
Therefore, the data center should be isolated from the general building and
outside environment as much as possible.
Keep doors closed at all times and use a vapor seal to isolate the data cen-
ter atmosphere. The vapor seal is one of the least expensive and most impor-
tant methods of controlling the data center environment and is particularly
important in maintaining proper humidity levels. If humidity is too high in
the data center, conductive anodic failures (CAF), hygroscopic dust