Reporting requirements on the energy performance and sustainability of data centres for the Energy Efficiency Directive - Task B report: Labelling and minimum performance standards

Overview

Task B looks at what could follow the Task A reporting scheme: Article 12(5) of the EED points to a possible EU-wide sustainability label and/or minimum performance standards, especially for new and significantly refurbished data centres. The report first gathers evidence on existing instruments: national and regional legislation, voluntary initiatives, certification schemes, building-focused schemes, self-regulation and the CLC/TS 50600-5-1 maturity model. It then makes a first evaluation of options, singles out the most promising ones and describes the groundwork needed to design policy.

The compilation contains concrete numbers. French Decree 2019-771 covers tertiary buildings over 1,000 m2 and foresees reference values for data centres by IT power density (W/m2), utilisation and PUE. The German Energy Efficiency Act draft asks for PUE 1.3 and at least 30% utilisation for centres starting operation from 1 January 2025 and a minimum 27 degree air intake for new air-cooled centres from 2028. Noord-Holland requires new centres over 2,000 m2 and 5 MVA to have a design PUE of at most 1.16, EU Code of Conduct participation and an energy monitoring system accessible to the authority.

Further examples include China's 2019 guidance (PUE of 1.4 or less for new large and ultra-large centres), GB 40879-2021 (three grades, maximum allowable value 1.50, design PUE calculated from local climate), the New South Wales requirement of at least 4.5 stars NABERS for government data centres, and the US DCOI 2019 revision, which dropped PUE as not always appropriate for comparison. Voluntary schemes covered include Blauer Engel (DE-UZ 228, independent auditor), CEEDA, DCA, Singapore SS 564, the Swiss label (bronze, silver, gold, plus tag for low carbon; valid three years) and the ENERGY STAR score, which normalises PUE against a peer building group by weighted least-squares regression.

Section 7 ranks options by effectiveness: minimum performance on metrics such as PUE, REF and ERF is high impact, rating-based and voluntary pass-or-fail labels are medium or uncertain, and plain metric reporting is medium/low. An example timetable runs metric reporting in year 1, voluntary pass-or-fail in year 3, rating in year 5 and mandatory requirements in year 6 after the scheme enters into force. One stakeholder proposed design PUE below 1.3, operational PUE below 1.5 and REF above 30% for new centres; the report presents these only as a stakeholder proposal.

The study recommends no final policy; it provides a method framework. For rating, each metric must be normalised for factors outside operator control: size, type, EN 50600-1 redundancy class (1-4), cooling degree days, water availability and proximity to heat users. Base cases quantify improvement potential, and scenarios are compared with a business-as-usual projection. The report warns that mandatory requirements may have very limited impact on existing data centres and need complementing with other options.

Key points

1. Noord-Holland conditions for new centres over 2,000 m2 and 5 MVA include EU Code of Conduct participation, an energy monitoring system accessible to the authority and design PUE of at most 1.16, plus a groundwater ban and annual WUE registration per ISO/IEC 30134-9.
2. The German draft requires PUE 1.3 and 30% utilisation for centres operating from 1 January 2025 and a minimum 27 degree cooling air intake for new air-cooled centres from 1 January 2028; media reports add 50% unsubsidised renewable electricity from 2024 and 100% from 2025.
3. French Decree 2019-771 covers tertiary buildings over 1,000 m2, with data centre reference values by IT density, utilisation and PUE.
4. China's 2019 guidance targets PUE of 1.4 or less for new large and ultra-large centres; GB 40879-2021 has three grades and a maximum allowable value of 1.50, with design PUE derived from local climate.
5. The Swiss Data Center Efficiency Label (2020) has bronze, silver and gold grades, a plus tag for low carbon, and three-year validity.
6. New South Wales requires government-owned or leased data centres to reach at least 4.5 stars on the NABERS Infrastructure and IT Equipment rating.
7. The US DCOI dropped PUE in its 2019 revision as not always appropriate for comparison across facilities, while still asking for PUE improvement over time.
8. Ranking of options: minimum performance on PUE, REF and ERF has high impact; labelling options are medium or uncertain; metric reporting alone is medium/low.
9. The example roll-out is metrics in year 1, voluntary pass-or-fail in year 3, rating in year 5 and mandatory requirements in year 6.
10. Normalising a rating requires at least size, type, EN 50600-1 redundancy class, cooling degree days, water availability, location and year of construction or renovation.

Using it in design

• Add local design limits (Noord-Holland design PUE of at most 1.16, German 27 degree inlet temperature) as configurable warnings rather than hard rules, since some are drafts or local.
• For new air-cooled designs, compare the planned supply air temperature with 27 degrees to judge early whether a possible future requirement would be met.
• Define target PUE separately as design PUE and operating PUE; the stakeholder proposal quoted in the report also keeps them apart.
• Design energy and water (WUE) monitoring so that it can be opened to the competent authority.
• Keep the rating inputs (IT energy, rack count, redundancy class, cooling degree days, location) in the data model so the tool can later show a projected EU class.

Who should read it

Design engineers, regulatory advisers and policy analysts tracking local or EU data centre efficiency requirements.

Document contents

1. Introduction
2. Objectives
3. Structure and objectives of this document
4. Evidence of existing policy instruments and potential instruments
5. National and regional legislation
6. Voluntary initiatives
7. Voluntary certification schemes
8. Building focused data centre certification schemes
9. Self-regulation
10. CLC/TS 50600-5-1 Maturity model for Energy management and Environmental sustainability
11. Identification of policy options based on existing policies
12. First evaluation of different options
13. Identify a small number of most promising options
14. Groundwork to design the policy options
15. Voluntary labelling based on pass-or-fail criteria
16. Labelling scheme based on rating or classes
17. Mandatory requirements on energy metrics or on the labelling scheme
18. Scenarios

Related standards

• Directive (EU) 2023/1791
• EN 50600-4-2
• ISO/IEC 30134

Read the document

Publication details

Authors

Viegand Maagoe; COWI

Publisher

European Commission, DG ENER (Viegand Maagoe and COWI)

Year

2023

Document language

English

Source type

Government / public

Access

Open licence — downloadable

DOI

10.2833/74040

Licence

CC BY 4.0 — share with attribution

Licence evidence

op.europa.eu

Citation