When high-quality video and pictures were widely available on smartphones, the amount of data to be kept and captured grew exponentially. The costs of operating a data centre and the environmental impact are greatly affected by this change. In addition, consumer demand for electronic items is driving firms to increase the amount of data they store and retain.
Many organisations, particularly those worried about their carbon footprints, consider using sustainable data centres. The green data centres are created to have the least negative influence on the environment as feasible. Adopting energy-efficient technology and renewable energy sources and the reuse and recycling of obsolete
equipment can help achieve this goal in many circumstances.
The Green Ingredients
When it comes to minimising their carbon footprint and being more ecologically friendly, green data centres focus on three areas. These three aspects must continue to be developed and enhanced to supply green computing power and reduce costs for both suppliers and end-users.
- The Power
The Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) consumes the most power in the data centre. The entire data centre relies on this mechanism for a reliable power supply. Unfortunately, traditional UPS systems often operate at less than full capacity, even though this is the most efficient operation. A modular setup allows the UPS to run at near capacity, which is more efficient. Another zone that can be improved is the lighting in the data centre. Large data centres can save a lot of money on electricity by installing motion-activated, energy-efficient lighting.
Green data centres often switch to a 240V power supply, which can improve power efficiency by up to 3.5% on each server in their data centre.
- The Cooling
Data centres must keep their servers at the proper temperature to ensure efficiency. There are several simple ways to enhance ventilation and cooling. A hot-and-cool aisle design has rows of hardware cabinets with hot air exhausts facing one direction and cold air intakes facing the other. Constraints on-air mixing keep the temperature constant without wasting energy. Data centre cooling systems are more efficient when cable management is implemented correctly. Lack of cable management frequently impedes proper cabinet ventilation.
The most efficient way of preventing data centre cooling is to use “close-coupled cooling,” where the cooling system is directly connected to each row of racks. It enables varying cooling settings depending on the server type and its requirements.
- The Structure
The design of a data centre can substantially impact the amount of energy used. Many green data centres include prefabricated or restricted infrastructures that allow rapid deployment, quick replication, and adaptability. It’s possible to design these modules to save energy. Even when employing renewable energy, the location of a data centre is critical. Renewable energy plants, wind or solar power, or cold weather can help chill water for air conditioning in many green facilities. Advanced insulation and heat-reflective exterior paint are applied to lower interior temperatures and cooling expenses. Recycled water, termed “grey water“, is increasingly used in data centres to cool. If you want to avoid drinking filtered water, this is a great alternative.
The initial costs of running green data centres may be higher, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks in the long run. These facilities will use less energy due to their attention to efficiency. The power, bandwidth, security, and storage provided by green facilities are the same as those that aren’t.
