Separating the hot and cold air in a data center is one of the keys to improving energy efficiency. Containment systems don't have to be fancy or expensive. Containment systems have been in use at least since 2004, but there's an ongoing debate about whether it is best to contain the hot aisle or cold aisle.
Do you use containment in your data center? If so, do you contain the hot aisle or cold aisle?"
Topics: Emerson Network Power, Data Center, Green IT, data center design, kW per rack, PUE, robust data center, Containment, DVL, pod, data center outages, energy, critical air conditioning
Topics: Emerson Network Power, data center infrastructure, Data Center, data center design, kW per rack, data center energy, robust data center, DVL, DC Power, CRV, critical air conditioning
“No trees were killed in the sending of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.” It’s a funny email signature, but how many inconvenienced electrons does it take to power the internet?
In 2011, the digital universe, or the amount of information created and replicated, reached 1.8 trillion gigabytes, and this digital universe is doubling in size every two years. Much of that digital information is housed in data centers around the world, and running these data centers requires a huge amount of electrical energy.
A 10-megawatt (MW) data center can use the energy of a small town at a cost of around $300,000 a month. Couple that with the fact that there are over 500,000 data centers in the world, according to Emerson Network Power, and we’re talking about 2% of all electrical energy used globally. So, running the internet uses upwards of 406 terawatts per year, assuming 20.3 petawatt-hours as the world’s annual electrical energy consumption.
The odd thing is that in traditional data centers, only half of the energy consumed is useful for running the digital universe: powering the servers that hold our emails, social networking profiles, and the like. The other half of the energy goes into cooling those servers, or it’s lost as heat when electricity is changed between alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC).
What are the 4 trends driving the future of Data Center infrastructure design and management?
Topics: Emerson Network Power, data center infrastructure, reduce cost, Data Center, data center design, kW per rack, data center infrastructure management, DVL, electrical distribution, reduce downtime, data center outages
The SmartRow infrastructure solution solves a problem all too common to IT management: addressing IT needs without building new data center space. Think of the SmartRow approach as a data center in a row--a simple, fully integrated row-based infrastructure. The SmartRow offering combines up to 10 data center racks--with precision cooling, UPSs, power management, monitoring and control technologies, and fire suppression--all in an enclosed system.
"We did not have to build a special computer room to install the SmartRow", Todd Bayley, Technical Architect-Network Information Technology Department, Pasco County, FL
Topics: data center infrastructure, reduce cost, Data Center, data center design, kW per rack, data center energy, data center infrastructure management, robust data center, DVL, reduce downtime, data center outages
Winning company will receive “Less Watts” Award to kick off Greenbuild 2013 in Philadelphia
DVL Group, a provider of data center power, cooling and infrastructure management solutions, has pledged to assist 12 data centers achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification and save 1,000,000 watts of electrical energy. Three companies that save the most watts will receive the Less Watts Award and DVL will donate $1,000 to the Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVGBC) in each company’s name.
DVGBC is a chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which set the standards for LEED building. DVL will work with each company to achieve LEED Certification, administered by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). LEED Certification verifies that a building was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
Facilities and IT personnel interested in making their data centers more efficient by participating in the Less Watts competition should attend DVL’s “Are You Prepared For What’s Next?” event at their Bristol, PA facility. The free conference takes place on May 9 and 10, offering the same seminars each day. All courses will feature IACET-authorized CEUs. The virtual Less Watts Award ceremony will kick off the annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo.
On May 3rd, 2012, Mayor Nutter made an announcement to celebrate the annual Greenbuild Conference, which will take place in Philadelphia from November 20-22, 2013. DVGBC is the host chapter for the three-day event. The convention will feature speakers, networking opportunities, industry showcases, LEED workshops and tours of Philadelphia’s green buildings.
DVL wants to show companies that it only takes one positive, “green-friendly” action to set the tone for data center efficiency and sustainability. Its hope for the Less Watts competition is for LEED Certification to become a priority for more organizations, and for these organizations to work with DVL to achieve this goal.
To register for either day of DVL’s “What’s Next?” event, visit www.dvlnet.com/prepared-for-whats-next-/. To learn more about how DVL merges its innovative “Strategy First” technique with quality solutions to build dynamic data centers, visit www.dvlnet.com. For more information on Greenbuild 2013 in Philadelphia, head to http://dvgbc.org/greenbuild-2013.
Topics: data center infrastructure, Data Center, Green IT, data center design, cloud computing, kW per rack, data center energy, PUE, DVL, Green Technology
