(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Introduced at the end of last year, the EU Code of Conduct Data Centre Efficiency lays out a set of minimum guidelines to help data center managers limit their facilities’ energy consumption, and, in turn, save businesses operational costs.
The code, however, isn’t as daunting as it sounds, and many of the measures that offer the biggest returns on investment are the easiest to implement. Also, the voluntary commitment can lead to new business opportunities. For instance, in order to win and maintain UK government contracts, data center managers need to abide by the EU Code of Conduct Data Centre Efficiency.
While the code currently consists of what can be deemed light-touch measures, it is expected to pave the way for more hard-hitting legislation in the future.
Jeremy Hartley says that now is the time for data center operators to comply with the EU’s Code of Conduct. A qualified mechanical engineer, Hartley seeks elegant and simple solutions to major industry problems as head of Dataracks (www.dataracks.co.uk) and sister company eCool Solutions (www.ecoolsolutions.com).
Dataracks and eCool Solutions craft highly engineered server racks and structural solutions to increase data center efficiency. Its employees have been granted specialized qualifications such as the Certified Datacentre Design Course with CNET Training, as well as the BTEC Advanced Award in Practical Datacentre Design.
In an email Q&A with the WHIR, Hartley gives us a primer on the EU’s new voluntary commitment, and explains why European data center managers should consider getting on-board.
The WHIR: Why is energy consumption an issue for the data center industry?
Jeremy Hartley: The data center industry is under pressure to reduce its energy consumption. According to a report by McKinsey, the IT industry as a whole will generate as much CO2 as the airline industry by 2020, and there are already restrictions on the location of data centers as a result of their energy demands.
Historically, data centers have been designed with large tolerances with the expectation of future expansion. This has created huge inefficiencies and now more energy is consumed in cooling the data center than powering the IT systems they contain.
To tackle this issue The EU has launched a Code of Conduct for data centers which aims to encourage data center owners and operators to voluntarily sign up to have the energy efficiency of their operations measured, and agree to an action plan and an annual progress report.
The WHIR: Can you give me a sense of the timeline that has lead to EU Code of Conduct on Data centers Energy Efficiency in its current form?
Hartley: European Code of Conduct for Data centers, is an initiative designed to inform and stimulate data center operators and owners to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner without hampering mission critical functions.
It has been developed in close collaboration with the IT industry, data center owners and operators.
It was launched in November 2008 and has come into operation in January 2010. Participants to the Code of Conduct are expected to follow the guidelines on best practice for all new data centers or significant refits from 2010 onwards.
UK government procurers will insist on seeing evidence that suppliers participating in the Code of Conduct.
The WHIR: What is the significance of a Data center Energy Efficiency initiative being an official EU mandate?
JH: The EU Code of Conduct is an important step for the EU and will serve as an exemplary initiative bringing together all of the key stakeholders to build energy efficient data centers that will help both the environment and the economy
The WHIR: There is a sense that energy efficiency improvements will cost organizations greatly. What are some measures that offer the biggest returns on investment?
JH: It is a fallacy that energy efficiency improvements are costly, done correctly they will pay for themselves.
Where eCool Solutions has implemented air management control within a data center the managers have noticed a difference in air temperature within an hour and the measures have paid for themselves in terms of energy savings within a few months.
Many of the measures in the guidelines can be retrofitted into a live environment, so do not require interruption of service.
WHIR: The Code of Conduct is a voluntary initiative. What businesses have already committed to follow the intent of this Code of Conduct? And what do businesses have to do to commit to the initiative?
JH: The Code of Conduct was created in response to increasing energy consumption in data centers and the need to reduce the related environmental, economic and energy supply impacts. It was developed with collaboration from the British Computer Society, AMD, APC, Dell, Fujitsu, Gartner, HP, IBM, Intel, and many others.
Those who choose to abide by the voluntary Code of Conduct will have to implement energy efficiency best practices, meet minimum procurement standards, and report energy consumption every year.
Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Green Grid, eCool Solutions are among the companies that have signed up to the code. There are two elements: Participants, who are data center owners and operators, and Endorsers, which includes supply chain and service providers.
The UK is also the first country in the world to approve legally binding climate change laws to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Data centers in the U.K. are responsible for about 3% of electricity use, and the goal is an 80% reduction in greenhouse gasses by 2050.
WHIR: As data center technology continually grows and evolves, how will the Code of Conduct change to reflect the changing data center environment?
JH: The Code of Conduct has a companion document the 2010 Best Practices, this has recommendations drawn from industry on the best ways to implement the Code.
This is an education and reference document that will be updated according to developments in the field.
WHIR: What are your hopes for the future of the EU Code of Conduct on Data centers Energy Efficiency?
JH: One of our clients, UKSolutions has found that by implementing cold aisle containment they have been able to increase the capacity in their data center, another client, Yahoo! has been able to significantly reduce its energy consumption.
We believe that the Best Practice recommendations will improve efficiency and resilience within data centers and hope that they will be widely adopted.
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