Data Center Power

Green Data Center Charges Forward in Data Center Power Efficiency Quest with Zurich Facility

By Carrie Schmelkin TMCnet Web Editor

Perhaps it’s because of all the greenery outside or the fact that it is now “cool” to go green in all walks of life, but companies all over the data center space are looking for the latest ways to go green and bring data center efficiencies to companies. And with the economy still reeling and data center power consumption costs becoming exorbitant, now is as good a time than ever to go green in the data center.

One company that is embodying this sentiment is a company conveniently named Green Data Center, a Switzerland-based group that recently opened a facility in Zurich that is revered for using the world's most powerful application of 380V DC technology. By relying on only one DC connection throughout the data center, Green Data Center it can be more efficient than AC-powered facilities as it cuts out AC to DC transmission, which results in reduced energy loss.

"The implementation of 380V DC technology in our data center is part of our long-term energy optimization strategy, a big step that has set a new standard in the industry,” Green CEO Franz Gruter said in a DatacenterDynamics piece.

"When fully loaded, the system will result in energy savings of up to 20% in power consumption from grid to chip and in cooling,” he added.

Green Data Center’s Zurich facility marks the company’s fourth data center in Switzerland but the first greenfield site. According to company officials, building greenfield allowed the company to work on new ways of incorporating energy efficiency from design to kit out.

Among the chief benefits afforded by the new data center are reduced energy transmission needs and energy loss, thanks to a partnership with HP which provides HDVC-capable servers; energy efficiencies; and reduced capital expenditures as DC is 15 percent cheaper than AC.

The data center solution uses a 1MW DC solution to provide power for 1,100 sq m of facility. Green Data Center has built the data center in large modules, with three modules of this size planned in total. Officials shared that the data center has a PUE of 1.04 and is rated Tier III by the Uptime Institute.

Another company that prides itself on brining data center efficiencies and management capabilities to the space is Server Technology (News - Alert), a provider of data center power distribution units. Server Technology recently demonstrated its commitment to maintaining a competitive edge when it announced that all of its intelligent rack mount power distribution units (PDUs) are now Cisco (News - Alert) EnergyWiseTM certified and interoperable with Cisco’s EnergyWise client technology. 

And with the certification, the company can proudly boast the fact that it is the only EnergyWise PDU supplier to monitor both Infeed and Outlet Watts for the most accurate and comprehensive data center power consumption.

“Server Technology is the only PDU manufacturer at this time that has passed Cisco’s rigorous Interoperability Verification Testing (IVT) to ensure compatibility with Cisco network gear,” Julie Brown, marketing manager for Server Technology, told TMCnet. “Server Technology is also the only company that can report power information per outlet, with our Per Outlet Power Sensing (POPSTM) units as well as inlet information with our Per Inlet Power Sensing (PIPS) units.”