GREENING THE DATA CENTRE
Powering the digital world
With a soaring reliance on IT services, augmented
by developing economies such as China and India,
the global growth for data production and storage
means that energy guzzling data centres must rapidly
establish a more sustainable operational model. The
surge in cloud computing, the Internet of Things and
the way we now live our lives confirms data centres as
the physical presence powering our digital world.
The already power-hungry data centre sector is set
for continuing exponential growth. However it struggles
to balance its commercial potential and protection of
the world’s resources.
Comprised of sprawling facilities, Data Centres
depend upon a high consumption of electricity and
typically produce large volumes of environmentally
damaging emissions. With only a finite amount
of power available, the drain on resources leads to
inevitable brownouts. Undeniable as a strain on an
already struggling grid, data centres may themselves
cause power outages as power becomes more mission
critical to their continuing and profitable operation.
Environmental activists Greenpeace have been
campaigning for change within the data centre
industry since 2010. A major result for the cause came
when Facebook became one of the first tech giants
to agree to commit solely to the use of renewable
energy during 2011. But is our increasing reliance
on technology all bad? The modern ability to stream
music for example, not only saves space on our hard
drives, but reduces our need for CDs and the associated
manufacturing and material elements that generate
pollution and waste. And eBay has produced arguably
the world’s most popular recycling system and how
many flights and car journeys have been saved by the
convenience of video conferencing, or that app in our
pocket that makes our lives just that little bit more
efficient.
The growing use of the cloud in daily life has
prompted public interest in the environmental impact
of converting to a digital infrastructure, but the results
are difficult to measure. In theory, our use of the cloud
creates greater efficiency, as equipment and resources
are shared within defined groups. However, utilising the
cloud still requires a physical presence in the form of
an out-of-sight-out-of-mind data centre back down on
earth. Many think of the cloud as an abstract concept,
although the reality still requires the continued
consumption of our limited environmental resources.
Despite the ecologically adverse effects of managing
high levels of power consumption and the resulting
need for high performance cooling, data centres can
effectively implement strategies aimed at reducing
their environmental footprint. With climate control
issues at the fore and more and more customers
striving to place their business with clean energy
practitioners, reducing the related carbon emissions will
need to become a priority for the modern data centre.
The key is for data centres to look for ways to
achieve sustainability not as just an added bonus to
becoming more efficient, but as a selling point in its
own right. Within the IT industry, being greener is
often equated with being more efficient, although
increased efficiency does not always represent a move
towards the use of clean energy. The commercial
truth is that for many customers and data centres
alike, reliability, resilience and cost will always be more
important than green credentials.
Custodian Data Centres is one facility looking to
make green improvements without compromising
on reliability and resilience; in fact, the measures
implemented by our Kent based colocation business
actually increase efficiency. Previous winners of Green
Data Centre of the Year at the Data Centre Leaders
Awards, we are leading the way with the use of an
innovate adiabatic fresh air cooling system that
negates the need for mechanical chillers and in turn
dramatically reduces power usage. Any generated heat
is also re-used within the television studio situated
alongside the Custodian facility. This is a recycling
method that is as of yet not widely adopted amongst
data centres. For Head of Sales Leonard Kay, adopting
an eco-friendly approach to cooling doesn’t mean a
reduction in performance: “Adiabatic proves that the
green solution can also be the most resilient and most
efficient option. Our ideology is to reduce our impact
on the environment