When you are in a situation where you have some say when it comes to planning a data centre, you will find that one of the first things that you need to consider is how to make it green friendly and energy efficient. The energy crisis is one that has many people on edge, but when you work in high technology, it can be quite difficult to tell where your strategy necessarily lies. While of course you do take part in community recycling drives and things like this, you will also be in a situation where you need to take a look at your energy expenditure. When you are in charge of a data centre, remember that you have a responsibility to design the most energy conservative and cost effect area possible, so take some time and think about some of the tools that you can use to get there.



In the first place, keep in mind that your servers might not be running in as energy a conservative fashion as you might wish. Consider your uninterruptible power supply. In the case of disaster, the UPS goes a long way towards making sure that your equipment stays safe and that you are guarded against a grid failure. You will also find, however, that your UPS might be running at as much as 60% efficiency. Think about how much energy that you could save simply by switching to smaller, modular UPS. This is something that more and more businesses are doing, and if you don't want to get left behind, this is something that you need to consider.

Similarly, where do you stand when it comes to cooling your equipment? One of the most vital pieces of equipment when you are looking at a lot of electronics working together is the piece that you are going to use to keep it cool. For the most part, data centres will default to floor based cooling units, which is quite simple, but at the same time, is a poor way to focus the air that circulates. Instead of using these difficult-to-direct units, consider changing to in-row chillers. This will allow you to direct the circulation of the air, you will be able to get a lot more out of the equipment and you will be fascinated to see your energy bill drops

When you are first getting started when it comes to building a green data centre, especially if you are starting with one that is not, you are going to find that getting good readings on what is currently going on is important. Find meters that will break down the energy usage for you, and make sure that this is constantly monitored to figure out peak and low energy demands. Also make sure that as soon as you have an idea on what is going on that you maintain these numbers and document improvements. When you are planning for a green energy centre, consider what your options are going to be and what you can do to get ahead in the game.