Data centers are the foundation of economic and technological development; They are infrastructures that host huge amounts of servers and electronic devices with the aim of processing and distributing data worldwide. However, the increasing use of data centers generates an increased demand for electrical energy.
According to a report by the Uptime Institute, server energy consumption is experiencing a marked upward trend. The data reveals that in 2017 energy consumption rarely exceeded 300 W, but this increased to almost 800 W by 2022highlighting the need to adopt more efficient and sustainable technologies such as liquid cooling, server virtualization and the use of renewable energy sources to reduce electricity consumption and environmental impact.
The Uptime Institute's 2022 Capacity Trends Survey Uptime Institute shows that reducing energy consumption is becoming a priority and data center providers have begun to adopt more responsible energy consumption policies. Some of these suppliers are adopting energy management strategies to reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency, such as monitoring loads, identifying hot spots and implementing measures to mitigate them.
The challenges for Latin America
The Copenhagen Energy Efficiency Centre estimates that by 2030, information and communications technology (ICT) will account for more than 20% of global electricity demand.In addition, the high energy consumption of these infrastructures and the expected growth in the coming years underscores the importance of reducing energy waste in the data center.
A report from Arizton forecasts that the Latin American data center market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 6% between 2022 and 2027, and is expected to reach $1 billion by 2027, with a focus on sustainability for mission-critical center developers.
The challenge lies in improving the carbon footprint, sustainability reporting and adopting measures to reduce energy consumption and costs. This is due to regional demand for energy services, which could double in the next 20 years, according to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
McKinsey identified four ways to reduce electricity consumption in data centers:
- Leverage artificial intelligence to detect equipment that is in use and automatically shut it down without the need for human intervention.
- Leverage IoT to accurately read electricity consumption and identify patterns over time.
- Carry out structural and architectural transformations to reduce cloud-based radio access network (RAN) systems
- Finally, look for renewable energy sources.
According to Octavio Delgado, chief technology officer of Ingenium, data center developers are increasingly aware of providing consulting, engineering, construction and operation of data centers with green approaches that promote an environmental evolution. "Teams highly trained in solutions that improve data center energy efficiency and water consumption are critical," Delgado emphasized.
In this context, Ingenium, in partnership with Vertiv, aims to complement its technologies and knowledge to offer comprehensive solutions for sustainability and energy efficiency in the region's data centers. These data centers have various types of equipment, such as data processing, security, network infrastructure, data management, and storage. As equipment ages, its energy consumption increases, resulting in higher costs.
To understand the energy consumption of your CD backup system, you can estimate energy savings with the Vertiv G4This tool allows you to visualize how much energy can be saved by upgrading your existing DC electrical infrastructure with Vertiv's 3500W 98% efficiency rectifiers.
A growing trend in the ICT industry is the adoption of modular data centers to reduce industrial impact on the environment. These prefabricated modular systems offer benefits such as reduced carbon emissions throughout the material production phase compared to an equivalent reinforced concrete structure, eliminating waste and additional deliveries by suppliers.
Being integrated and closed systems, they can be designed to eliminate waste—both of materials, energy and water—and be more sustainable than a traditional data center design.
Ingenium has more than 15 years of experience as a partner on the path to decarbonization through the adoption of high-impact environmental practices and can guide you in the process of obtaining certifications such as CEEDA, LEED and EDGE, among others.
