5 ways to lower the temperature of data centres
Learn some good practises to reduce the temperature and costs of hardware equipment. Refrigeration is a very important factor in the management of the costs of a Data Centre.
If the cooling system is improperly installed, the electrical power needed to cool a data centre can be equal to or greater than the power consumed by the IT equipment itself. Refrigeration is often a limiting factor in the processing and storage capacity of a Data Centre (reducing heat can be a much more serious problem than supplying electrical power to the equipment).
In addition, due to the innumerable existing technologies, unprecedented computational demands and an increasing number of operations, Data Centres have reached a point where CIOs are trying to reach a balance between availability, efficiency and cost reduction. Among the main challenges faced by CEOs in trying to ensure the proper functioning of their data centres, are the fast contraction of IT budgets, high energy costs, the urgent need to reduce the carbon footprint of physical facilities, and ensure that infrastructures always operate with high levels of performance.
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IT leaders are looking for ways to reduce electricity costs, which represent between 25 and 40% of the operating budget of Data Centres. The reason for this search is that the consumption of electricity from the physical IT equipment itself and from the cooling solutions has led to an increase in the annual budget of IT management, both in companies that have Data Centres, and in those that outsource storage services.
To help overcome these challenges, we collected a few recommendations that provide insight into how data centres energy consumption can be reduced, as well as 5 ways for CEOs to optimie the efficiency of the Data Centre without sacrificing the security of data centres or the continuity of their business.
1. Implement the virtualisation of servers
The use of old servers is one of the main factors of excessive consumption of energy in the Data Centres, greatly increasing the costs of this input. CEOs can regulate the consumption of electrical energy in a virtual environment in two ways: on one hand, they can control the power supply and the use of the hardware components or, on the other hand, they can control the use of hardware resources in the virtual environment and then adjust the capacity and load of those resources. The implementation of virtual servers is increasing due to the optimisation of the technologies of said equipment. This results in less need for physical servers and can help lower energy consumption of a 5,000-square-meter Data Centre by almost 8%, for example.
2. Focus on the management of the energy used by the server
Data Centres are designed to work effectively in conditions of maximum use. However, few operate at full capacity. That is why it is important to think of alternative ways of managing energy to reduce the expense generated by unproductive servers. The management of the servers makes it possible to reduce the energy used in a Data centre by almost 10%.
3. Monitor and optimise the Data Centre
The temperature control systems can monitor the activities of the Data centres and coordinate various units to avoid conflicts and ensure uniform operation. These systems optimise the Data centres and allow savings of up to 1% as a result of monitoring the control system.
4. Implement high efficiency power supplies and monitor the use of energy
It is possible to achieve an efficiency of more than 90% when using power supplies that incorporate the best technologies. This reduces 124 KW in the Data Centre’s energy consumption or 11% of a total of 1,127 KW (if we consider the 5,000 m² Data Centre that were mentioned earlier). However, CEOs should keep in mind that there are certain higher performance power supplies that work with partial loads compared to other sources, making them more attractive when choosing one. In the current business scenario that requires higher performance with lower spending, it is natural that the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and the CEO demand greater efficiency of the Data Centre. Activating and assimilating such changes in the IT workflow will ensure that the modern data centre becomes the new centre of productivity for the company and provides a good basis for the CEO to make critical decisions about business growth.
5. Implement best refrigeration practices
Good practises, such as reducing the mixing of hot and cold air, sealing the gaps in the floors and locating the cooling system of the Data Centre inside the rack to eliminate heat directly in the source that generates it, guarantee a lower energy consumption, which results in the decrease of CAPEX of energy (expense related to the development or supply of equipment and facilities for the production of products or services, and with the integral functioning of systems and of the business). In addition, this increases the availability of critical data if necessary. One of the easiest ideas to implement in the Data Centre is to ensure the best match between, the cooling capacity and the cooling air flow and, on the other hand, the IT loads. Since cooling units of different sizes and capacities are installed to meet demand peaks, this challenge can be addressed through the use of intelligent cooling controls capable of understanding, analysing, forecasting and adjusting the cooling capacity and the flow of water. air and, consequently, allow a greater reduction of costs.
The increase in the efficiency of the fans is also another good measure, since they are the biggest consumers of energy. Fixed-speed fans are those that have traditionally been used in precision cooling units. However, the fact of having a variable frequency allows to reduce the speed of the fans and the energy consumption. The implementation of these good practices allows to optimise the efficiency of the refrigeration system by more than 5%, in addition to reducing the total energy costs by 1%.
Contact us today to help you optimise efficiency in data centres.