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WP#21 - Fundamentals of Data Center Power and Cooling Efficiency Zones

The Green Grid · Dennis Bouley, Tom Brey

The Green Grid's 2009 white paper maps where power and cooling losses occur, inside and outside the data hall, as efficiency zones and suggests corrective actions for each.

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Overview

WP#21 is a Green Grid white paper dated 4 March 2009, written by Dennis Bouley (APC) and Tom Brey (IBM). Its subject is that data centre power and cooling efficiency is affected by infrastructure both inside and outside the physical data centre, not only within the data hall.

The paper gives a comprehensive overview of where power and cooling efficiency losses are likely to occur. The efficiency-zones approach splits the chain from the utility meter to the IT load into parts, making it possible to see loss zone by zone. It is a useful framework for treating data centre energy loss as a structural breakdown rather than one overall number.

The document also offers suggestions to correct the inefficiencies it identifies. Because corrective actions are given for each zone, finding where loss concentrates and choosing the matching improvement can be done within the same framework. ISO/IEC 30134-2 (PUE) is recorded as a related standard. Limits: the paper dates from 2009 and its full text was not read, so the number of zones, loss percentages and details of the recommendations are absent from this record. For a designer its value is in steering the energy model toward a breakdown structure that shows in which zone losses accumulate.

Key points

  1. Dated 4 March 2009; authors Dennis Bouley (APC) and Tom Brey (IBM).
  2. Efficiency is affected by infrastructure both inside and outside the physical data centre.
  3. Gives a comprehensive overview of where power and cooling efficiency losses are likely.
  4. Offers suggestions to correct the identified inefficiencies.
  5. Helps structure a loss breakdown from utility meter to IT load.
  6. Related standard: ISO/IEC 30134-2.

Using it in design

  • In the energy model, present a Sankey or loss breakdown by zone (utility/MV, UPS, PDU, cooling plant, room air).
  • Let users see which zone dominates non-IT energy.
  • Include infrastructure outside the data hall (utility, cooling plant) in the loss analysis.
  • Use each zone's share of loss as the criterion for prioritising corrective actions.

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Who should read it

Data centre designers building energy models and operations teams seeking efficiency improvements.

Related standards

  • ISO/IEC 30134-2

Publication details

Authors
Dennis Bouley; Tom Brey
Publisher
The Green Grid
Year
2009
Document number
WP 21
Document language
English
Source type
Industry body
Access
Citation only
Licence
Copyright retained; citation only — the publisher’s terms apply to the original document
Original licence note

Download requires a free TGG account sign-in and is governed by The Green Grid Terms of Use; summary and facts from the public library landing page; full text not redistributed.

Citation

Dennis Bouley; Tom Brey (2009). WP#21 - Fundamentals of Data Center Power and Cooling Efficiency Zones. The Green Grid. WP 21. https://www.thegreengrid.org/resources/library-and-tools/wp-21-fundamentals-data-center-power-and-cooling-efficiency-zones

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