CSE Pure Power - Fall 2008 - (Page 5)

in the news 5 ❮❮ PURE POWER // FALL 2008 DATA CENTERS ADD ENERGY SAVINGS Data center energy use has become a target for both environmentalists and corporate accountants, with improved efﬁciency seen as critical to both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ﬁnancial returns. Widespread recognition of the need to reduce facilities’ electricity use is encouraging new levels of cooperation across an industry known for its competitiveness and secrecy. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reaching out to data center operators to participate in the agency’s effort to develop an Energy Star certiﬁcation for these facilities, and 215 installations—all sized 1,000 sq ft or larger—have agreed to take part. The centers will provide information on their energy usage for 12 consecutive months, beginning June 2008. Also in June, a number of centers presented their experiences with incorporating advanced energy-saving ideas into their day-to-day operations at a gathering organized by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the EPA. Many of these case studies involved new ways to keep server rooms cool. With chips becoming both smaller and more powerful, these spaces now can house a much larger number of servers, which has increased air conditioning demands signiﬁcantly. Cooling has to become more efﬁcient for these spaces to reduce overall electricity use. Wireless sensing is providing a solution for Yahoo!, according to company representatives presenting at this conference. They said such networks can reduce cooling requirements because operators can raise thermostat setpoints, while monitoring temperatures at high-risk locations within the center to ensure hot spots don’t occur. According to a 2007 EPA report, data centers doubled their electricity use between 2000 and 2006, with the total reaching that of the entire U.S. transportation manufacturing industry. And in 2006, the nation’s data centers’ electricity bill reached $4.5 billion. If left unchecked, researchers said energy costs could rise to $7.4 billion by 2011. Our growing reliance on online services and recordkeeping has made reducing these facilities’ electricity use a priority. Researchers promote chip-cooling technology Information technology managers are focused on room-level solutions, including server-aisle layouts and economizer strategies, to address the cooling needs of today’s overheating data centers. But researchers recently announced a technology that could bring cooling to individual chips and reduce ballooning energy requirements. Purdue University scientists are exploring the use of microjets that deposit liquid into tiny channels and are capable of cooling chips producing up to 1,000 W of heat/sq centimeter. The channels, less than a millimeter wide, are formed on top of a chip and covered with a metal plate that is perforated with tiny holes. Coolant is pumped through the microjet holes to ﬂow along the channels. Previous cooling techniques have managed cooling rates of 200 W/sq centimeter, the researchers said. The U.S. Ofﬁce of Naval Research funded the technology’s development, with an eye toward its advanced radar and propulsion systems and lasers. However, the Purdue researchers said the approach also might have commercial applications in personal computers. Photo: Purdue News Service/David Umberger www.purepowermagazine.com http://www.purepowermagazine.com

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CSE Pure Power - Fall 2008 In the News Commissioning CHP Enhancing Emergency Lighting Data Centers for Uncle Sam Handling a Nuisance Trip Sustainable Projects and Partnerships New Products Ad Index

CSE Pure Power - Fall 2008

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