EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
ROBERT LINSDELL , MANAGING DIRECTOR , AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND , VERTIV
s businesses across Asia-Pacific continue
A creating , storing , sharing and working on data , the need to optimise systems to reduce footprint and consumption has become paramount .
Energy is a huge driver in this regard , hence the drive for renewables across the region , which has the added bonus of taking pressure off the grid . While this is encouraging , in the absence of a renewable energy strategy organisations can also greatly reduce their carbon footprint and energy spend through improving their own IT infrastructure efficiency .
Three years on from the pandemic , a lot of the ‘ low-hanging fruit ’ optimisation tactics have been realised by some data centre operators . Many have applied energy audits and leveraged energy optimisation software that helps identify thermal and power inefficiencies in the data centre , taking corrective actions across their ecosystems as a result .
But the latest cost-of-energy crisis is pushing our energy-hungry data centres back into the frying pan and onto the plates of CFOs ’ business priorities .
As companies across Asia-Pacific look to make an impact on their energy bills , there are still options available to reduce consumption on power and cooling technologies in the data centre – especially in facilities where there have been changes to the IT equipment deployed .
Inefficiency can reach levels of as much as 50 % through issues such as overcooling , poor air flow and anomalies derived from IT equipment added , relocated , or removed over time . But a skilled operator can achieve savings in just a few hours by optimising cooling unit airflows .
Further , leveraging cutting-edge technologies are fast becoming huge differentiators for businesses capitalising on improving their overall Power Usage Effectiveness ( PUE ). Immersion and other high-density cooling equipment can directly improve PUE , while technology such as fuel cells and long duration energy storage can reduce power bills through peak looping .
Additional cost-saving opportunities linked with optimisation exists in many countries across Asia-Pacific , with abatement schemes to financially reward companies that demonstrate their ability to invest in carbon reduction projects in the data centre .
In Australia , certain states offer energy reduction programmes that attract subsidies . Full circle , these rebates can be used to fund legacy equipment replacement with more efficient , rightsized equipment .
INEFFICIENCY CAN REACH LEVELS OF AS MUCH AS 50 % THROUGH ISSUES SUCH AS OVERCOOLING , POOR AIR FLOW AND ANOMALIES DERIVED FROM IT EQUIPMENT ADDED , RELOCATED , OR REMOVED OVER TIME .
30 www . intelligentdatacentres . com