Lower Your Data Center Energy Costs by Raising the Temperature

Here's an excerpt from a brief article by Brian Renwick on how raising the ambient air temperature in your data center can significantly lower energy costs. Note that as the temperature increases, so does the need to closely monitor it.  Do that monitoring with Packet Power and you will save even more money - our wireless temperature and humidity monitors cost 30% less than most others.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) maintains guidelines on proper operating temperature ranges for server rooms. Way back in 2004, their recommendation was to keep the temperature somewhere between 68-77 degrees Fahrenheit. A more recent update in 2008 expanded the envelope, suggesting that a range of 64 - 80 degrees was acceptable. This range was expanded after looking at IT manufacturer data. Running at a temperature closer to the higher end of the range will not compromise the overall availability of your IT equipment.

So what does this change mean to you? Quite simply, a huge savings opportunity. It's estimated that for every megawatt that is used to power a data center, another 0.5 to 1 megawatt is consumed in maintaining the proper temperature. Because it can be difficult knowing the temperature at any one location in the room, most companies simply turn the air conditioner up as high as they can. It's a fact that companies can save 4-5% in energy costs for every 1 degree increase in server inlet temperature.

You can find the full article here:  http://bit.ly/i3dMMh