45 Many businesses, including the likes of Apple, are starting to adopt the concept of a ‘green data centre’. But there’s still plenty of work that could – and more importantly should – take place needed to keep them running at full capacity. To remedy this, it is important to make an assessment of the equipment used, how often it is used, and whether it could benefit from being powered down during quieter periods of its use. It may be a relatively minor action, but it is the cheapest and easiest way to save energy and it can be actioned today.
operate more efficiently. Of course, hot and cold aisle containment probably is not practical for smaller server rooms and data centres, where space restrictions and increased costs make the option prohibitive.
level of segregation between data, operating systems and applications. This runs more efficiently, saves space, and reduces the number of power consuming servers, which is great for cost and for reducing energy waste.
Virtualise servers Within data centres you will often find a dedicated server for each application, which can be incredibly inefficient, for both energy use and budget. With virtualisation, you can share servers and storage onto one shared platform, while still maintaining a
Turn off idle IT equipment It might seem obvious but leaving equipment on idle uses more energy than you think. IT systems are often used far less than capacity allows. Servers, for instance, tend to only be about 5-15% utilised. When these systems are left on, but unused, they still consume a large amount of the power
Energy efficient UPS At the heart of most data centres lies the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system, an electrical unit which is used to support critical mainstream IT and communications infrastructures when mains power fails or supply is inconsistent. Previously these units were part of the energy consumption problem. These large, standalone towers used older technology that could only achieve optimised efficiency when carrying heavy loads of 80-90%. Such fixed-capacity units often tended to be oversized during initial installation to provide the necessary redundancy, meaning they regularly ran inefficiently at lower loads, wasting huge amounts of energy. These sizeable towers also pumped out plenty of heat so needed lots of energy-intensive cooling. However, the technology
Socomec’s STS systems transfer critical loads from one source to another, enhancing power availability while simplifying the electrical architecture. Supplied by two independent sources, Statys provides redundant power to mission critical loads, increasing the power supply availability by
selecting the best quality power supply and preventing fault propagation. These intelligent switching units transfer the load to an alternative source when the primary source is out of tolerance – ensuring high availability of the power supply for particularly sensitive or critical installations.
The project with this leading power continuity client included the installation of 9 x 200A Statys cabinet version units for global critical IT loads and 1 x 800A Statys cabinet version for mechanical loads. In the event of a power failure, Socomec’s STS transfers the load from ‘preferred’ to
missioncriticalpower.uk
has developed rapidly in recent years, and now your UPS system could be part of the solution. Just as cooling equipment has improved, so too has UPS technology. Modular systems – which replace sizable standalone units with compact individual rack-mount style power modules paralleled together, to provide capacity and redundancy, deliver performance efficiency, scalability and ‘smart’ interconnectivity beyond the capabilities of their predecessors. The modular approach ensures capacity corresponds closely to the data centre’s load requirements, removing the risk of oversizing and reducing day-to-day power consumption, cutting both energy bills and the site’s carbon footprint. It also gives facilities managers the flexibility to add extra power modules in whenever the need arises, minimising the initial investment while offering the in-built scalability to ‘pay as you grow’. If cutting carbon costs and reducing energy consumption within your data centre is at the top of your agenda, these small adjustments can be made quickly and with relatively minimal cost. Therefore, you could see your IT energy wastage drastically improve so there is no need to sink your data centre just yet. ●
‘alternative’ source in typically 3-5mS. Using Silicon Controlled Rectifiers (SCRs) – fast-acting switching devices – the switching is carried out under processor control. With inbuilt component redundancy (power supplies, micro controllers and SCR driver boards) reliable operation is guaranteed. ● October 2018 MCP