We’ve all heard the concern about massive electrical consumption in data centers, and new statistics confirm that half or less of that energy actually goes to the IT loads. “The other half goes to the network-critical physical infrastructure (NCPI) equipment including power equipment, cooling equipment, and lighting,” according to Neil Rasmussen, founder and CTO of American Power Conversion, Inc., a global leader in network infrastructure.
“Electrical power usage is not a typical design criterion for data centers, nor is it effectively managed as an expense,” he writes. “This is true despite the fact that the electrical power costs over the life of a data center may exceed the costs of the electrical power system including the UPS, and also may exceed the cost of the IT equipment.”
For efficient data centers, Rasmussen says: “The electrical power consumption is typically shared evenly between the IT loads and NCPI devices. Any rational approach to reduction in electrical usage must treat the combined IT / NCPI design as a system in order to maximize the benefit.”