{"id":2044,"date":"2016-09-26T10:09:57","date_gmt":"2016-09-26T10:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs-dc.azurewebsites.net\/?p=2044"},"modified":"2023-03-16T14:26:02","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T18:26:02","slug":"keeping-the-data-center-cool-in-the-hot-september-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.vantage-dc.com\/fr-ca\/2016\/09\/26\/keeping-the-data-center-cool-in-the-hot-september-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"Maintenir le centre de donn\u00e9es au frais sous le soleil br\u00fblant de septembre"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is almost a statement of the obvious that global temperatures are rising and that hotter-than-average summers are the new norm. Here in Silicon Valley we have been dealing with heat and drought conditions for several years but this has helped us to improve our operations strategy, building design and construction methods, increasing our energy efficiency.\u00a0 Thus, our focus on keeping costs low is a year-round focus that works well for our hot summers too.<\/p>\r\n

Data Center Cooling in Summer Months<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At Vantage data centers, the concept of running hot plays well into dealing with the increased temperatures of summer and we are not the only ones who are doing this.\u00a0 According to Jeff Klaus, general manager for data center solutions,\u00a0Intel DCM<\/a>: \u201cContrary to what most hardware protocols denote, data centers can actually be kept at higher temperatures even during peak workloads. In fact, one of Intel\u2019s customers is planning to bring the data center temperature to 80-82F when most operate at 70 degrees or below. With each degree raised in the data center, a two percent savings is realized on each power bill \u2013 a significant year-over-year savings.\u201d1<\/sup><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There has been a strong focus in the data center industry for many years now on energy efficiency.\u00a0 Not necessarily on reducing the energy being used, but doing more with that energy.\u00a0 According to a US Dept of Energy study released in July 2016 which examined the power usage in 2014, data centers account for about 2% of the country\u2019s energy usage.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 While this sounds like a lot of energy \u2013 the rate of consumption growth has slowed enormously since 2000 according to the same study:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Year<\/strong><\/td>\r\nData Center Energy Growth<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
2000-2004<\/td>\r\n~90%<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
2005-2009<\/td>\r\n24%<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
2010-2014<\/td>\r\n5%<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Of course, running higher indoor temperatures requires the necessary tool and monitoring for control.\u00a0 Inside our centers we\u2019re monitoring temperature, humidity, and electrical power consumption. Much of this monitoring is automated including processes for:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n