To operate with high levels of energy efficiency has become a priority in many industries. After all, running energy efficiently not only tackles the cost matter, but it handles other environmental concerns as well.
In the data center industry, the importance of this topic increases tenfold. Using power efficiently results in reduced spending, maximized IT load, and minimized costs related to infrastructure and cooling.
To measure this much needed efficiency, the Green Grid came up with the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), which gives data center managers a better picture of IT power usage versus total power consumption. The PUE is calculated by dividing the amount of power entering a data center by the power used to run the computer infrastructure within it.
All energy required to operate the data center must be included in the PUE calculation — cooling, lighting and all support structure (fire, security and BMS systems). Furthermore, it’s possible to measure IT load power consumption at multiple locations, including the output of UPS, output of a floor-level PDU and the input of servers or output of a rack-mounted PDU.
The PUE is therefore expressed as a ratio, with overall efficiency improving as the quotient decreases toward 1.
Chatsworth Products (CPI) offers a free, easy-to-use PUE Calculator that can help you easily tabulate your PUE. Depending upon the amount of source data you're able to provide, our calculator will generate PUE results across multiple categories. The calculator requires specific data, such as power consumption and cost of electricity, then considers environmental variables (provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization) to determine the best possible PUE for your data center. (Note: You must be logged in to the CPI website to be able to use the PUE Calculator.)
Raissa Carey, eContent Specialist