Data center power requirements are growing. With AI, 5G, edge computing, and more cutting-edge technologies churning through power at incredible rates, data centers are already having trouble keeping up in many cases.
To make matters more complicated, environmental regulations keep getting stricter as the push for green energy intensifies. Traditional energy sources may keep the lights on and the servers running, but data center operators are finding it harder and harder to stay within energy consumption guidelines while doing so.
Even without strict regulations, the drain on local power grids is often substantial enough that nearby residents dislike living near data centers. This can make obtaining permits challenging for renovations, expansions, and new developments.
This dilemma has created demand for ways to reduce traditional energy consumption. Here are some of the most innovative data center power solutions for generating more and using less power.
Fusion Power
Fusion power may quickly become a reality for data centers. Several tech giants, including Sam Altman’s Helion startup, which is backed by Bill Gates, are hoping to make fusion power accessible by 2028.
2028 is an extremely optimistic goal. It was only about two years ago that scientists were able to generate a short burst of fusion energy using laser ignition. At that time, the most realistic expectations were that the technology could be developed to generate—and perhaps sustain—fusion energy sometime within the next few decades.
Still, fusion power is an exciting prospect for data centers.
Thermoelectric Generators
Data centers produce massive amounts of heat. Typically, this heat gets pumped out into the surrounding environment as fresh air or water gets chilled and pumped in to cool the data center’s equipment. Since heat is in itself energy, this heat loss is actually a fairly significant loss of potential energy.
What if data centers could use this wasted heat to power thermoelectric generators, which then in turn power the data center’s equipment? If properly implemented, it could create a positive cycle of energy use and reuse that eliminates a large portion of the energy losses most data centers consider unavoidable.
Current technology is limited, in that some heat energy is lost in the conversion process. Still, some reusable energy is better than none, so thermoelectric generators are still a promising solution for data centers.
Innovative Cooling Techniques
Developments in cooling techniques have evolved over the past few years.
Some of the best—and most reasonable—solutions include:
- Improving cooling efficiency with air flow management to direct cold air in and hot air out, while minimizing the mixing of hot and cold air. This could possibly save large facilities up to $360,000 every year and is accomplished relatively easily, with curtains or Plexiglas panels.
- Arranging aisles so that servers face each other in one aisle and their backs face each other in adjacent aisles. This creates hot aisles and cold aisles, which can simplify air flow management and reduce fan energy consumption by up to 25 percent.
- Using cooling towers to supply chilled water, which can reduce the cost of chilled water by up to 70 percent when compared to a mechanical chiller.
Each of these solutions requires effort and investment, but can pay off many times over in the long term.
Embedded Data Centers
Because large, centralized data centers use so much power, it can be difficult to find a solution that can significantly reduce or even replace the facility’s reliance on the local electric grid. It’s much easier to offset the power demand from smaller facilities, such as embedded data centers.
Embedded data centers are typically self-contained facilities that operate outside of the electric grid. They run on any number of alternative energy sources, including solar panels, wind turbines, and sometimes biofuels.
In theory, it would be possible to combine the use of embedded data centers with some of the other innovative ideas on this list. Take, for example, thermoelectric generators. If a large data center in one region produces enough heat energy to power a smaller, embedded data center elsewhere, that embedded data center no longer has to rely on any outside electric sources. And, relatively speaking, transmitting stored electricity from one location to the other is a simple procedure.
Energy Efficient Strategies
In many cases, the goal may not be to generate more power, but instead to use less power while accomplishing the same workloads. The majority of data centers, for example, have at least some idle servers or several servers running at less than 100% capacity. By consolidating processes and removing excess hardware, data centers should cut energy usage by a surprising amount. Eliminating even one server saves roughly $500 in energy costs every year, so powering down several under-used servers could make a significant dent.
Other energy saving measures managers could implement include:
- Reusing the heat produced by data centers as a means of heating nearby facilities such as pools or local businesses—or the thermoelectric generators mentioned above
- Opting for more efficient data storage methods
- Taking advantage of built-in power management options for servers, such as power reduction for times of low usage
- Choosing power-efficient infrastructure, including smart PDUs that monitor power usage
- Running “eco mode” on systems whenever possible to reduce energy losses
- Choosing colocation facilities that prioritize energy efficiency
- Training IT employees to maintain energy efficiency as part of their daily workflows
Need to restructure your data center for better energy efficiency?
Sure, using hot aisles and cold aisles sounds like a great idea for boosting energy efficiency, and maybe you’d love to install a brand new cooling system. But what if you have to completely rearrange your facility in order to make it happen?
Fortunately you can lift servers and move them safely and more easily than you might imagine with the help of ServerLIFT® data center lifts.
Call us at 602-254-1557 or request a quote.