Energy exceeds property costs
iReach
Wednesday July 09 2008
Irish data centre energy costs are to exceed property costs by 2010, according to a study carried out by market research firm iReach.
iReach estimates that data centres require 0.5 to 1 watt of cooling power for each watt of server power used, and that a typical x86 server consumes between 30pc and 40pc of its maximum power when idle.
Also, a typical rack of servers installed in data centres just two years ago might have consumed a modest 2kW of power while producing 40 watts of heat per square foot, according to data from Sun Microsystems engineers.
However, newer, high-density racks, expected as 'standard' by the end the decade, could easily consume as much as 25kW and give off as much as 500 watts of heat per square foot, Sun said.
The energy consumed by fans, pumps and other cooling components already accounts for some 60-70pc of the total energy consumption in the data centre, and iReach predicts that energy costs will become the second highest cost in 50pc of Ireland's data centres by 2010.
It is now believed that in most data centres, particularly those in single-story buildings, electrical costs are already more than two to three times greater than the property costs.
- Sharon Lynch
