Simple and Affordable Ways to Increase Datacenter Efficiency
If you're worried about the cost, complexity and reliability of all the proposed new methods to increase datacenter efficiency, reduce power consumption and comply with environmental regulations, there are some preliminary steps you might try first. Not everything requires a big investment or elaborate re-tooling.
Data Center Journal has come up with a simple list – three things that you can do now. Some of them are recommendations that work best if you're already planning on creating a new datacenter or doing a major upgrade. But this blog entry from Ed Spears promises that these techniques are proven approaches that will not decrease a datacenter's reliability.
The first suggestion is one that works best if you're designing a new datacenter or performing a major upgrade: Use higher voltage. If you eliminate the power distribution unit (PDU) step-down transformer and use European voltage equivalents, running at the higher voltage will increase efficiency.
Get a new UPS. The newer generations of uninterruptible power systems offer high-efficiency modes for those times when power conditions are stable.
Finally, consider direct current. It can reduce the number of conversions going from AC to DC and back, thus improving efficiency, although AC power and high-efficiency UPSs give equal or better results.
