By John Consoli

At AFCO System we often say that you can’t manage what you can’t measure when it comes to airflow in your data center. That’s why we were pleased to see that the Data Center Metrics Task Force (DCMTF) places a huge emphasis on measurements its recent report, “Recommendations for Measuring and Reporting Overall Data Center Efficiency: Version 1 – Measuring PUE at Dedicated Data Centers.”

The recommendations come from a prestigious task force representing 7×24 Exchange, ASHRAE, The Green Grid, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, U.S. Department of Energy Save Energy Now Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Program, United States Green Building Council, and Uptime Institute.

Here are the guiding principles the DCMTF agreed to:

• Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) using source energy consumption is the preferred energy efficiency metric for data centers. PUE is a measurement of the total energy of the data center divided by the IT energy consumption.

• When calculating PUE, IT energy consumption should, at a minimum, be measured at the output of the uninterruptible power supply (UPS). However, the industry should progressively improve measurement capabilities over time so that measurement of IT energy consumption directly at the IT load (i.e. servers) becomes the common practice.

• For a dedicated data center, the total energy in the PUE equation will include all energy sources at the point of utility handoff to the data center owner or operator. For a data center in a mixed-use building, the total energy will be all energy required to operate the data center, similar to a dedicated data center, and should include cooling, lighting, and support infrastructure for the data center operations.

You can download a copy of the complete report here: http://www.7×24exchange.org/DataCenterMetricsTaskForceRecommendations7-15-2010_final.pdf

What does this mean for you and your data center? Simple, by focusing on the power consumption, including computing equipment, lighting and cooling in your data center you can develop your own PUE rating. Then, by making small, measureable changes to each of these variables – reducing power loads, reconfiguring cabinets, managing airflow and controlling other variables – you can reduce your PUE and in doing so, reduce your overall rate of energy consumption.

If you’d like some help with ways to manage and control your power and cooling, we’re always here to help!

What’s in Your Datacenter? Sigma-T

AFCO CTO John Consoli discusses the importance of Sigma-T to datacenter cooling.

Ed Koplin, a Principal in X-nth’s Mission Critical line of business, has more than 26 years experience in data center electrical and mechanical design. He was recently interviewed by Rami Rihani, a consultant with Accenture, for his views on datacenter power and cooling. In this interview, Koplin points out that “All data center resources converge at the computer enclosure. Understanding, testing, and modeling the coordination of power, space and cooling at the enclosure is essential for optimizing energy conservation.”

Read the complete article (PDF)

What’s in Your Datacenter? Advanced Active Airflow Management.

A recent request by Processor magazine to discuss datacenter temperature concerns got AFCO CTO John Consoli thinking. Here are John’s tips for staying on top of temperature in your datacenter:

Know the CURRENT ASHRAE TC 9.9 Guidelines: Most data centers are kept much colder than necessary.

Know the AVERAGE and PEAK loaded PER CABINET in your data center: Planning by “watts per square foot” can be very inefficient.

Know WHERE the air in your DC is going: Most “cooling” problems are attributable to poor air flow management. CFD modeling is a good investment.

Know the basic rule of cooling: Every WATT of power you put in the DC will be converted into a WATT of HEAT that needs to be cooled.

Know your cooling STRATEGY: Whether you use Hot/Cold Aisle, Aisle Containment, In Row Cooling, or Active (Cabinet) Airflow Management, every approach has positives and negatives.

AFCO Systems Chief Technology Officer John Consoli discusses Six Approaches to Data Center Cooling and Design based on a recent independent study and research from AFCO.

A Comparative Look at Five Major Design Approaches to Data Center Layout & Design

By John Consoli, Chief Technology Officer, AFCO Systems