Best Practices Guide For Energy-Efficient Data Center Design: Computer Modeling, Energy Efficiency Measurement Assessment Kit Guide and Specification, Energy Reduction Strategies And Case Studies

Summary
This guide provides an overview of best practices for energy-efficient data center design which spans the categories of Information Technology (IT) systems and their environmental conditions, data center air management,
cooling and electrical systems, on-site generation, and heat recovery. IT system energy efficiency and environmental conditions are presented first because measures taken in these areas have a cascading effect of secondary energy savings for the mechanical and electrical systems. This guide concludes with a section on metrics and benchmarking values by which a data center and its systems energy efficiency can be evaluated. No design guide can offer ‘the most energy-efficient’ data center design but the guidelines that follow offer suggestions
that provide efficiency benefits for a wide variety of data center scenarios.

Background
Data center spaces can consume up to 100 to 200 times as much electricity as standard office spaces. With such large power consumption, they are prime targets for energy-efficient design measures that can save money and reduce electricity use. However, the critical nature of data center loads elevates many design criteria—chiefly reliability and high power density capacity—far above energy efficiency. Short design cycles often leave little time to fully assess efficient design opportunities or consider first cost versus life-cycle-cost issues. This can lead to designs that are simply scaled up versions of standard office space approaches or that reuse strategies and specifications that worked “good enough” in the past without regard for energy performance. This Best Practices Guide has been created to provide viable alternatives to inefficient data center building practices.