Green data centres and energy saving solutions
Data Centres are Data Processing Centre facilities created to store and manage data and computer applications (e.g. servers and computers etc) that serve a company. The electricity consumption of a Data Centre is enormous, to say the least.
The electrical energy consumed by these facilities produces a lot of heat, which must be dissipated because it is known to be detrimental to the operation of IT facilities.
This huge and growing need for energy production contributes significantly to global warming and the increase in CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, as well as considerable economic costs.
HOW MUCH ENERGY DO DATA CENTRES CONSUME AND WHY?
The general increase in data production and dissemination, together with the large-scale expansion of remote working due to the Covid 19 pandemic, has made it necessary to have data centres of ever greater size and performance. Increased size and performance means increased energy consumption. Ensuring that the equipment runs without interruption every day also requires a considerable amount of energy, as does powering the cooling systems that are essential for reducing the heat produced by the machines in operation.
According to a study by the Milan Polytechnic Foundation, a large data centre in a single building can consume up to 3,000 kilowatts. This is close to the consumption of 1,000 flats.
This has made it necessary to have modern data centres that are both environmentally and economically sustainable.
Hence the name Green Data Center!
WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF DATA CENTRES ON THE ENVIROMENT?
A report by the International Energy Agency has estimated that digital data centre traffic has increased 7 times over the previous decade. Over the next four years, 3% of CO2 emissions will be attributable to data centres.
The data acquired, processed and stored in these infrastructures, which are in turn made up of computers, optical fibres, routers and storage, constitute the digital traffic responsible for the consumption of huge amounts of electricity which, if it does not come from renewable sources, produces greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to the electricity consumption of the equipment, thousands of servers operating in data centres produce a lot of heat that needs cooling. Industry studies calculate that, on average, around half of the electricity consumed by a data centre is used to cool the servers.
IBT’S TRIGENERATIVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY SOLUTIONS FOR GREEN DATA CENTRES
IBT Group offers energy efficiency and CO2 reduction solutions with new trigeneration systems based on turbines from Capstone Green Energy Corp.
Capstone technology systems made by IBT Connecting Energies, applied as an alternative energy source for Data Centres, also make it possible to implement other functions that are essential for Data Canter themselves, such as back-up power supply (UPS) in the event of a power blackout.
The starting point for a CCHP (Combined Cooling Heating & Power), i.e. trigenerative, application for a Data Centre is to understand the type of consumption involved.
On average, about 45% of the electricity consumed in the operation of a data centre is used for air conditioning, about 25% to power the UPS and the electrical distribution network, and about 30% for the various IT components on the premises (e.g. servers, computers, etc.).
The energy efficiency that can be achieved with CCHP systems can significantly reduce CO2 emissions by 30% to a maximum of 100%, contributing to decarbonisation targets. Capstone technology has the lowest emissions on the market today in terms of Nitrogen Oxides (Nox < 18 mg/Nm3) and Carbon Monoxide (CO< 50 mg/Nm3), for Green Data Center applications.
