Earth Day typically inspires widespread environmental introspection. How can we cut down on waste? Can we be more efficient? Are we actively pursuing “greener” operations? And how can we reduce our costs and be fiscally responsible?
Houston is recognized as the energy capital of the world, so it may be a surprise to learn that amidst that distinction we do our part to reduce energy costs. In fact, we have been featured in several “green technology” articles over the past few months and acknowledged for our common sense approach. Ultimately, we look to save money, reduce consumption and improve data center efficiency. And in the coming weeks, we’ll announce an expanded program that takes us to the next level in increasing those efficiencies.
Tier1 is a leading research firm, and Martin Levy is the firm’s “green” analyst. In his report , his headline was simple: “Down-to-earth solutions help improve efficiency at our data centre”
Martin goes on to say the following:
“Not a word about carbon offsets. Nobody planting trees. Nothing about Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). No recycling bins at the entrance to the datacenters. Instead, today’s announcement from us was all about core datacenter efficiency. The company runs datacenters and because of a focus on efficiency, it expects to save over one million dollars during 2008 … T1R is impressed. We have shown that going green can be done the old-fashioned way. Make the technology work better and the company sees a positive ROI. That’s still good for the environment and even better for the bottom line!”
Our facilities team is always on the lookout for new ways to reduce energy costs, since it’s one of our biggest expenses. There are a few of the initiatives aimed at improving our efficiency:
- Rearranging floor tiles to better manage cold airflow
- Installing seals and grommets in the ceilings, walls, and floors to reduce bypass airflow
- Installing blanking plates in server cabinets to direct airflow more efficiently
- Sealing power distribution units to reduce bypass airflow
“Cool air was going to only where it was needed: the server intakes … Six months later, the company finds that its efforts have paid off substantially. Even though critical server loads increased by 5 percent, the facility’s overall cooling power needs dropped by 31 percent … We also improved its “coefficient of efficiency,” an EPA- and Uptime Institute-recognized measurement of the total power necessary to operate a data center, divided by critical power, which represents the energy required to operate its computers. The company increased its rating to 1.7 – a near-ideal number – from its previous “good” ranking of 2.0.”, Martin added.
