Gartner shares data center efficiency secrets

aisles will be, for most users, the single largest payback of any of these best practices.

-- Raise the temperature in the data center. Most data centers are run too cold, and raising the temperature by a few degrees often will not affect the equipment.

-- Install variable speed fans and pumps. Traditional CRAC units run at a single speed, but a variable speed fan should be used rather. A reduction of 10 percent in fan speed, apparently yields a reduction in fan electrical consumption of roughly 27 percent. Reducing fan speed by 20 percent yields electrical savings of approximately 49 percent.

-- Exploit free cooling. Depends a lot on local climate, but in winter in the UK, cold air is readily available outside the data center.

-- Designing new data centers using modular cooling. Traditional data centers have been cooled by the raised floor perimeter air distribution. Mounting evidence strongly points to the use of modular cooling (in-row or in-rack) as a more energy efficient cooling strategy.

Additional information can be found in a Gartner report, "How to Save a Million Kilowatt Hours in your Data Center."