Climate protection needs energy efficient data centers - Stulz GmbH

Climate protection needs energy efficient data centers• A message from Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabrielmade to improve energy efficiency in this area, then datacenter energy consumption is predicted to rise to 11.1 TWhby 2010. That means that, by 2010, the CO2 emissionscaused by German data centers would rise by approx.50 per cent as compared with 2001.The scale of these figures demonstrates the majorsignificance of energy efficient data centers for climateprotection.This is a highly relevant topic for manufacturers and usersof IT hardware and software, because dwindling resourcesmean that cost pressure often directly influences productprices, competitiveness and thus locational and job security,too.We should make it our common goal to show how thesechallenges can be transformed into positive synergies forimproving resource efficiency, protecting natural resources,lowering costs, generating innovation, saving jobsand creating new ones. New technological solutions andinnovations are called for if we are to meet these economicand ecological challenges.Sigmar Gabriel, Federal Minister for the Environment,Nature Conservation and Nuclear SafetyIn the face of the steady increase in the use of moderninformation and communication technology and theinternet, improving the energy efficiency of our data centersis an important contribution to climate protection.Servers and data centers are among the fastest-growingenergy consumers within the sector. Experts estimatethat in 2006 the electricity consumption of Germany’sroughly 50 000 data centers amounted to 8.67 TWh. Thatis the equivalent of the annual power output of threemedium-sized coal-fired power stations. If no efforts areThis guide is an important tool in helping us to reach thisgoal. It points out clearly and concisely the various differentpractical approaches: cooling strategies for improvingdata center energy efficiency, for example. It will helpyou to implement improvement measures quickly andeffectively, for the benefit of both the climate and yourown pocket.2