How Data Centers Contribute To Your Business’s Energy Usage And Carbon Footprint…And What You Can Do About It

Key highlights:

• Greenhouse gas emissions from data centers may even exceed emissions from flying. It’s estimated data centers contribute to nearly 2% of total greenhouse gas emissions.

•  Many enterprise businesses harnessing the power of AI and HPC applications require a dynamic data center solution at the edge. Yet this needs to be done in an energy-efficient way.

• Efficient cooling systems, like Iceotope's Precision Liquid Cooling, provide a sustainable solution to take data centers to the edge, while reducing data center energy consumption.

The way organizations use data today is transforming how they connect with customers. As businesses move towards more real-time, personalized interactions, the role of data centers is changing, as they’re no longer just the central hub for data. With HPC and AI driving vast amounts of information to the edge, there’s a growing need for purpose-built, rugged, and easily serviceable edge solutions that can handle the demands.

 Yet, with this change in approach we’re seeing energy consumption on the rise. Data center energy usage is huge. In fact, it’s estimated that data centers consume around 3% of the global electric supply. Not only does this impact your bottom line, but with this increase in energy usage come environmental concerns too. Globally, it’s thought that data centers account for close to 2% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Worryingly, it’s predicted to grow to 5-7%.

So, how can your business reduce the impact on your carbon footprint whilst still getting the most out of your data ?

Why energy efficiency matters for businesses

First and foremost, the amount of energy your business uses goes straight to your bottom line. With energy costs rising all over the world, reducing the energy output of your data centers by just a few percentages can have a huge impact on your core business costs.

Plus, regulations are coming into play all around the world focused on energy usage and data centers. We’re already seeing the impact of the Energy Efficiency Directive in the EU, mandating improvements in energy use and requiring data centers to implement advanced cooling technology systems, optimize power consumption, and conduct regular energy audits. Similar legislative and regulatory initiatives are now appearing in the US too.

Alongside energy usage and what it means for the business balance sheet, today businesses are more environmentally conscious than ever, and organizations are striving to reduce their carbon emissions. Yet, whilst the likes of AI and HPC applications are key to driving your business forward, it raises the question of whether businesses are doing enough to manage and mitigate their energy impact.

The role of cooling, cost and energy consumption

Cooling is one of the largest contributors to energy consumption in data centers. In fact, it accounts for up to 40% of the total power usage. Traditional air-based cooling methods are energy-intensive. They are also inefficient when it comes to extreme workloads.

Crucially, traditional cooling methods will likely hit your bottom line hard.

-          Air cooling: Air cooling might be a well established method of cooling a data center, and it has lower initial setup costs but it’s an inefficient method. This is especially the case in densely packed data centers – as the power density of new processors increases, air cooling will struggle to cope.

-          Raised floor cooling: This can be an extremely expensive way to cool data centers. Installation is usually costly and complex. Maintenance isn’t cheap either. This form of cooling requires a significant investment in infrastructure. Plus, it can be less effective in handling the higher thermal power densities of modern HPC racks.

Discover more about traditional methods of data center cooling, their cost and energy usage.

Taking your data center to the edge…sustainably

As we’ve touched on already, as enterprises move towards a more interactive dynamic with customers, the traditional role of data centers is changing with edge solutions holding the key.

Iceotope creates a solution for enterprise organizations to effectively manage, process and analyze substantial amounts of data whilst pushing for Net Zero targets. We provide improved energy efficiency right at the location where it’s needed. You can maintain data center density in even the harshest of environments.

And how do we do it? Precision Liquid Cooling.

Precision Liquid Cooling can significantly reduce the energy demands of data centers. Liquid cooling targets the hottest components directly, capturing all the generated heat. This approach not only reduces data center energy usage, but also boosts the performance of high-density workloads like AI and HPC applications.

Our data center solutions – including our Kul DC, KUL RAN and KUL EDGE – are plug and play solutions that are optimized for high-density, low latency workloads including AI and ML. Crucially, these turnkey solutions are super energy-efficient, providing up to a 40% reduction in energy consumption, 30% less component failure rates, and simplified maintenance.

They take your data center to the edge yet enhance data center energy efficiency at the same time.

Time to tackle data center energy consumption

As enterprise businesses grow and rely even more heavily on data, energy demand will increase. And this is happening across the world. However, innovative cooling technologies, such as Precision Liquid Cooling, offer a more energy-efficient and sustainable solution that can help your business grow and achieve its sustainability objectives at the same time.

If you’re interested in exploring how Iceotope’s solutions can help manage your data center energy efficiency, visit our Enterprise page for more insights.