(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Nearing the end of a 12-month effort to collect data on energy use and operations from over 100 data centers of all types and sizes, the US Environmental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov) has announced details about the structure of its energy performance rating for data centers to be released in early 2010.
According to a blog post by EPA Energy Star commercial buildings manager Michael Zatz, the new assessment will let data center operators assess the energy use of their facilities and compare them to their peers using the EPA’s unique 1-to-100 rating system. For instance, a score of 50 indicates average performance, and a score of 75 or more means it’s in the top 25 percent in terms of energy efficiency, qualifying the data center for an Energy Star label.
The release of the Energy Star rating for data centers will mark the culmination of more than two years of work by the EPA in cooperation with hundreds of stakeholders. In November 2008, the EPA became one step closer to creating a finalized Energy Star efficiency rating for servers when it finished the third draft of the Energy Star specification for servers.
“Data center operators can take a leadership role as part of the global climate change solution,” according to a blog post by EPA Energy Star commercial buildings manager Michael Zatz. “And toward that end, the agency is working to develop an energy performance rating system for data centers.”
The Energy Star 1-to-100 rating will be based on a ratio of total facility energy use to energy used by the IT equipment, the same calculation used by the Green Grid’s DCiE metric, however, Energy Star’s rating will be based on the facility’s average ratio over the course of 12 months worth of actual measured data.
A recent EPA study found that the data center industry accounts for more than 1.5 percent of all electricity generated in the US, which is expected to double over the next five years. “So it’s no surprise that many people see data centers as a major part of the climate change problem…But the EPA sees this as an opportunity.”
With more than 6,200 buildings across the US boasting the Energy Star label, it has become known as a symbol of superior energy efficiency that the EPA wishes to extend to the data center industry.
The EPA, however, has gained a reputation for moving slowly. For instance, the EPA finally issued a statement last week that it has found that “greenhouse gases contribute to air pollution that may endanger public health or welfare,” following a thorough scientific review ordered in 2007 by the US Supreme Court.
