Top 3 Ways to Create a Green Data Center

“Going green” is the latest buzz word in today’s competitive data center market place. A green data center results in cost and energy savings, leading to as much as double the ROI for companies those who care and want to incorporate social entrepreneurship into their business functions. Here are the top 3 ways to create a green data center:

1. The prime design principle of a green data center is to use innovative cooling technologies, since almost half of the data center’s energy is utilized for cooling and air conditioning alone. By taking advantage of newer technologies such as outside air cooling and indirect evaporative cooling, data center cooling costs can be reduced by almost 70 to 90 percent, and carbon emission can be reduced by almost 2000 tons per year.

A wonderful example has been set by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). The NSIDC provides scientific research data across the globe, and successfully implemented its Green Data Center Project in 2011. This project resulted in a total energy savings of 70 percent along with a significant decrease in the cost of cooling infrastructure maintenance.

2. Another option is to move to a cloud based data center. Using a CSP (Cloud Service Provider), the possibilities of using different energy efficient sources, such as renewable energy, are greater. A recent study indicated that the energy consumption and carbon emissions for a 100 person company can be reduced by almost 90 percent by using applications deployed in a cloud based system.

3. Introduce power measurement and monitoring for the data center equipment. For example, there are some UPSs that have intelligent power monitoring built in. Research indicates that most UPSs can have an energy efficiency ranging from 80 to 95 percent. Upgrading from an old UPS gives 80 percent efficiency to a newer one, which can create 95 percent efficiency and can result in tremendous energy gains at a reasonable cost.

Looking to reduce costs and go green at the same time? Whether you are looking for a high tech landlord, or want to augment your IT team with additional expertise, Lifeline Data Center offers flexible and cost-effective data center services. Contact us today for a quick tour of our facilities or take a virtual tour of our Eastgate facility now.

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.