Data centers provide power to more than just servers equipped to handle file storage, data management, backup and recovery. In today’s hyper-productive world a data center, in essence, is the lifeline of an enterprise. This nerve center is designed to support business transactions and provide external and internal services such as e-commerce transactions, email hosting, big data/artificial intelligence, and online gaming to name a few.
What are the critical power usage strategies needed to run an efficient data center?
As one can imagine, a great amount of power is needed to support these centers in order to ensure uninterrupted service. In fact, the power infrastructure for most data centers must be designed to not only accommodate the servers running the transactions, but also the physical structure itself. Air handlers/cooling/ventilation systems, lighting, environmental controls, fire systems, security, surveillance, and sensors all require a substantial amount of power. Emergency power systems need to be charged as well.
According to a release published on Bloomberg, the data center market is estimated to reach US$251 Bn by 2026. This is due in part to the growing adoption of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things which is surging sales in the sector.
Efficient data centers utilize a number of strategies to keep costs as low as possible when it comes to powering their facilities. These can range from installing motion-activated sensors for dimming or turning off the lights when no one is in certain parts of the center, to incorporating software into the site’s operations to better manage cooling demands based on usage trends.
With such tactics in place, data centers can greatly improve their power usage effectiveness. Data centers often install too much cooling capacity than is required and inefficiently distribute it throughout the complex. Poorly managed data center cooling can result in extreme heat which can lead to major stress on servers and storage devices. This can cause downtime, damage, and shorter equipment lifespan which only will increase an operator’s capital expenditures and significantly inflate power costs.
Innovations in efficiency practices like cold aisle containment and advance use of artificial intelligence for automated temperature monitoring have helped in reducing data centers power utilization. Customers need to work closely with their energy suppliers and installers to ensure that they’re services and equipment are running as optimally as possible meeting-not exceeding-their power needs. Inefficient data center power distribution can lead to wasted energy, not only raising existing costs but potentially arresting future business growth and service expansions.
This is why it is important for enterprise clients to have the right partner when connecting power sources to their data center. For more than 25 years, electrical installers like Hugh O’Kane Electric (HOK), led by President Hugh R O’Kane, have become a leading specializer in power projects for New York City and its metro area. The company has been upgrading, expanding and installing electrical networks for a variety of public and private enterprises on a regular basis. This institutional expertise Hugh O’Kane is able to provide to private and public entities is paramount in order to design and implement electrical projects that can successfully expand their service offerings to increase their market share and gain more customers. This lineage and industry expertise has afforded Hugh O’Kane a competitive edge because it has expert knowledge of an area’s infrastructure and is able to work within the required parameters of existing networks and energy providers much more easily. In doing so, Hugh O’Kane is able to take the time required to provide a power infrastructure needed to ensure continuous, robust energy for corporations and private enterprises.
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