Why Data Centers Should Go Green Beyond Environmental Concerns

Going green is a consideration for every data center today. “Green” data centers are designed to have minimal impact on the extremely sensitive ecology of the earth, and they harness the forces of nature, such as solar power or chill to cool servers, to minimize their carbon footprints.

Generally, people think the need to go green is due to an increasing awareness of environmental issues, fueled by the critical state of the earth’s ecology. While this is indeed a good reason, the need to go green in inspired by many other commercial reasons, including:

1. Many organizations buying data center services have become more aware of green operations and demand that their data centers follow these practices as well. Large organizations usually have written environmental policies influenced by their corporate social responsibility or statutory obligations, which they like to be echoed in their buying decisions. These organizations only opt for data centers that allow them to fulfill their “green” commitment.
2. Going green comes with incentives as well, which help not only the data center, but the local economy. The UK government, for instance, offers tax relief for purchases of equipment with a coefficient of performance (COP) better than 3.0, depending on configuration. Data centers that review and replace equipment to keep up these thresholds can reap rich tax benefits.
3. Green data centers are becoming a sound business proposition. Green concepts, such as Lean and Six Sigma, focus on eliminating waste and improving efficiency. This offers greater savings, which can improve the bottom-line and be passed on to customers in the form of a price advantage, which is important in an increasingly competitive business environment.
4. Most green data centers incorporate innovations in their design to reduce energy usage, maximize the use of recycled materials to reduce costs and use state-of-the-art energy efficient equipment. A green data center roughly consumes about 50% less energy than a conventional data center.

A study by Stanford University, Northwestern University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers estimates that the use of state-of-the-art equipment can help data centers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 80%. Another study by IO estimates that modular data centers, a common approach to green data center design, offer 19% energy savings and 44% energy waste reduction compared to conventional data centers.

All factors considered, going green may no longer be a matter of choice. It is becoming a business necessity. At Lifeline Data Centers, we are dedicated to making our operations as energy efficient as possible. To learn more, schedule a tour of our facilities today.

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.