INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE
The reality of the digital infrastructure sector is that legacy data centres will be required for the foreseeable future .
Smarter operators will pass power costs directly on to customers , which on the one hand provides a haven from volatile energy costs , but on the other risks customers moving their business to cheaper or more energy-efficient colos .
As for enterprise data centre facilities , the rise in energy prices across Europe is equally , if not more , impactful than it is for the colo and cloud operators . After all , enterprises are unlikely to be able to negotiate the long-term price agreements that have , to some extent , cushioned the energy crisis blow for large-scale operators .
Containing the problem
The good news is that legacy data centres have a roadmap which can take them a long way on the journey towards minimising their carbon footprint and improving energy efficiency . The first step is to analyse and understand what ’ s going on in the data centre . Without such insight , any attempted improvements will be little more than educated guesses with no real idea of their likely impact .
CFD analysis provides a comprehensive map of how a data centre operates in terms of how effective the existing cooling technology is . It highlights key inefficiencies , such as hot spots , providing an overall picture of where hot air leaks in and / or out of the IT racks , cabinets and aisles , demonstrating the inefficiency of the existing cooling solution . Armed with this picture of current legacy data centre performance , it is then possible to implement a programme of relatively simple but effective measures to bring about a significant improvement .
Most notably , the implementation of a comprehensive containment strategy brings with it significant data centre operational efficiencies . These efficiencies translate into significant financial and environmental benefits , saving as much as 30 % of the energy bill and offering a reduced carbon impact . The emphasis is on ‘ comprehensive ’.
For example , there is no point in building a containment system around the IT cabinets , if the power cable ingress ducts are not fully sealed as well . Similarly , if a cabinet is not fully populated with
Andy Connor , EMEA Channel Director , Subzero Engineering
For legacy data centre operators , the energy crisis is even worse . They are not only paying hugely increased power bills but are paying an additional premium through the inefficient use of power . For example , they waste more than 60 % of cooling energy , meaning higher power consumption and a much higher energy bill than is necessary . Thanks to inefficient data centre design and a lack of truly sealed , air-tight aisles of racks and cabinets , the cooling solution deployed in many data centres is having to work for much longer and harder than it would need to in an optimised environment .
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