Data centers are energy-intensive facilities. They use 10-50 times more energy per square foot than a typical office building. Globally, data centers account for about 1% of the world’s electricity use. With the demand for data centers at an all-time high, thanks to the acceleration of remote work, e-commerce, and online entertainment, Bloomberg predicts that hyperscale data centers will double by 2025.

As many data centers are not using sustainable or alternative energy sources, they’re still relying on energy powered by fossil fuels, and are still in need of finding ways to reduce their carbon footprint. When renovating an existing data center or looking to build a new one, there are several considerations to ensure the new facility is good for the organization and the environment.

Every project goes through a planning phase where you need to determine the main goals of the project and budget, based on current and future needs of the facility. These days, it’s critical to also think about sustainability goals and energy use — both for the associated costs and protecting the planet.

A helpful way to think about energy and cost savings in data centers is to use the energy pyramid, which consists of conservation, energy efficiency, demand management, and renewable energy in ascending order (from the bottom up).

Conservation

Save what you already have in your building. That means looking for any areas where energy is lost through heat transfer, like the walls, roof, windows and doors, and even the floors. Many data centers only contain IT equipment, eliminating the need to consider energy use for occupancy comfort in the space. Unnecessary windows and doors can lead to unwanted heat loss. Increased insulation in the walls and around ducts and pipes, as well as reducing infiltration around entrances and windows, can prevent leaks and assist in energy conservation. Since data centers must be kept cool to protect sensitive equipment, another avenue to saving energy is finding use for the waste heat extracted by the chillers.

Energy efficiency

In addition to minimizing lost energy, to be sustainable, a facility needs to get the most out of its existing power supplies. Maintenance is a key element of ensuring you are using your existing energy efficiently. That could mean upgrading lighting to LED fixtures or replacing the transformers between the utility power lines and the facility.

Up to 40% of the energy used in data centers goes to cooling. This is a key area to find efficiencies. In an air-cooled data center, that means optimizing airflow, temperature, pressure, and direction within the aisles. In a liquid immersion-cooled center, that means checking for leaks and ensuring the flow rate is correct.

Demand management

Managing the load demands of the system improves efficiencies as well, with building control systems for HVAC and lighting specifically, building automation, and server load management systems. By monitoring these systems and analyzing existing data, it’s possible to understand the energy flows and then improve or transfer as needed.

For example, when the center is expecting a large processing load, based on time of day, for example, the HVAC can pre-cool the space rather than responding only after an increase in heat. Another type of demand management is load sharing. Depending on the type of data center, it may be more beneficial to share the computing load between multiple servers rather than sending the load to just one server.

Renewable energy

In addition to saving energy and improving efficiencies, the next step to being a truly sustainable data center is to use energy from renewable sources, like solar, wind, or geothermal. As more renewable sources come online, and more businesses demand sustainable resources, these energy sources are more cost-competitive than energy created with fossil fuels.

It's time for data centers to focus on energy efficiency and sustainability, both for cost savings and to protect the planet. Any project should begin with an accurate assessment of current consumption and plan to improve across each of these four areas of the energy pyramid. Once construction is completed, a commissioning agent will verify installation and measurements can be set to see how much energy the building is saving.