NetworkWorld: Google says crank up the heat in your data center

Google’s top energy executive has offered some simple steps for making data centers more energy-efficient, including raising the thermostat to 80 degrees Fahrenheit — or 27 degrees Celsius — to cut down on cooling costs.

Data center staff at some companies walk around in jackets because the buildings are kept so cold, said Bill Weihl, Google’s “green energy czar,” at the GreenNet conference in San Francisco on Thursday. “In our facilities, the data center guys are often wearing shorts and t-shirts,” he said.

The tips he offered have been batted around at data center conferences for a few years, but it’s likely that many companies still aren’t making use of them — especially to the degree Google does at its own tightly-run facilities.

By taking fairly basic steps, most data centers could lower their PUE to 1.5, Weihl said, compared to an industry average of 2.0 or more. PUE, or Power Usage Effectiveness, measures the total energy consumed by a data center against how much actually reaches the IT equipment.

More of the Network World article from James Niccolai

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.