Data centres aim for the stars

Data centres account for around 1.5% of Australia’s total annual energy consumption - and, given our increasing reliance on computing and mobile technology, this figure is likely to continue to grow. In a competitive market, companies can stay ahead of the pack by demonstrating the energy efficiency of their data centres.

In February 2013, NABERS announced the new NABERS Energy rating tools for data centres, which enable data centre owners, operators and tenants to obtain ratings for their data centre infrastructure, IT equipment, or both.

Why rate with NABERS?

“With data centres responsible for 1.5% of Australia’s total annual energy consumption, the need for tools to enable greater energy efficiency in this sector is evident,” Environment Minister Robyn Parker said in February 2013, when the new data centre rating tools were released.

NABERS Energy for data centres is a set of benchmarking tools for measuring the energy efficiency and environmental impact of a data centre. The rating condenses a large amount of information about a data centre’s energy efficiency and emissions intensity into an easy-to-understand star rating from one to six, where a rating of one indicates very poor energy efficiency and a rating of six indicates market-leading performance.

There are three different NABERS Energy ratings:

• NABERS Energy for data centres (Infrastructure)
• NABERS Energy for data centres (IT equipment)
• NABERS Energy for data centres (Whole facility)

The three different ratings enable organisations to more accurately compare the energy efficiency performances of data centres. Because each rating type analyses a data centre based on the service it provides, data centres or IT equipment owners are not penalised for factors beyond their control.

NABERS Energy for data centres (Infrastructure)

Designed for data centre owners and managers, this rating determines a facility’s energy efficiency in supplying infrastructure services to the IT equipment in the data centre. It is suitable for colocation centres in which the operators supply cooling, power delivery and security systems but have no control over the tenant’s IT equipment.

The Infrastructure rating uses the power usage effectiveness (PUE) ratio, which measures how efficiently a data centre uses its power. It distinguishes between the power consumed by IT equipment and power consumed by the infrastructure services. As NABERS is an emissions-based rating, PUE is expressed in kilograms of emissions.

To calculate the rating, IT equipment electricity consumption and infrastructure services energy consumption are measured over a 12-month period. The consumption of external energy (such as electricity, gas, diesel and coal) used by each piece of equipment is determined from utility meter readings.

Infrastructure services include:

• Air conditioning
• Lighting
• Power back-up, including generator fuel and UPSs
• Power distribution, including power distribution units (PDUs)
• Security services for the data centre

The NABERS website (www.nabers.gov.au) has a NABERS Infrastructure self-assessment calculator that gives an indication of a data centre’s star rating. The following information is required for self assessment:

• Energy consumption (IT): 12 months of energy consumption data for the assessable IT equipment.
• Energy consumption (infrastructure): 12 months of energy consumption data for the infrastructure services.
• Location: the postcode of the data centre’s physical location.

For a NABERS Accredited Assessment, a business will need to provide the following information:

• Energy consumption of all IT equipment over a 12-month period.
• Energy consumption for infrastructure services over the same 12-month period.
• A single line diagram showing the location of meters within the data centre.
• The postcode of the data centre’s location.

The NABERS assessor will need to see full copies of bills as they need to determine energy consumption, rather than energy costs.

NABERS Energy for data centres (IT equipment)

This rating specifically analyses IT equipment such as servers, storage devices and network equipment, but does not take into account data centre support services such as air conditioning, lighting and security. It is relevant to organisations that own or manage IT equipment, rather than those which manage infrastructure or data centres in their entirety. It is also useful for businesses wishing to measure just IT equipment, rather than a data centre as a whole.

The rating compares the capacity to compute and store data with the energy used (and associated emissions), awarding a higher rating for data centre equipment that consumes less energy for a given level of capacity.

NABERS Energy for data centres (Whole facility)

As the name implies, this rating assesses the energy efficiency of the facility as a whole, taking into account both IT equipment and infrastructure. It is designed for organisations which manage and own the data centre, or where internal metering arrangements preclude a separate IT Equipment or Infrastructure rating.

Improving your Infrastructure rating

NABERS offers several suggestions for improving the efficiency of infrastructure services:

• fine-tuning and commissioning the HVAC controls
• implementing hot/cold aisle containment
• installing occupancy-based lighting controls
• using more efficient UPSs and PDUs
• using PDU level metering

In addition, the ASHRAE 2012 Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments (Third Edition) allows for higher temperatures in data centres. Adhering to these guidelines can lower electricity usage and, in turn, emissions.

First Australian data centre rated

Fujitsu’s Noble Park data centre has become the first in Australia to receive the certified NABERS Energy for data centres rating.

The data centre received a 4-star rating, which NABERS says represents good performance on the NABERS 6-star scale. Fujitsu completed a NABERS Energy for data centres (Infrastructure) rating, which assesses the efficiency of the building services (such as cooling and lighting), but not the efficiency of the IT equipment within the data centre.

Good for business, environment and industry

“This is excellent news for the data centre industry, for businesses and for the environment,” said Tom Grosskopf, Director of the Metropolitan Branch at the Office of Environment and Heritage.

“By rating its facility with NABERS Energy for data centres, Fujitsu is demonstrating its commitment to sustainability and helping to make efficient centres the industry standard.

“With the energy-intensive data centre industry expanding so rapidly, energy efficiency in this sector is essential for helping to minimise future price rises and improving the competitiveness of Australian data centres. The widespread use of NABERS Energy for data centres ratings will be a central component of this.”

What the customer says

“NABERS is a comprehensive and trusted assessment that has provided our customers with validation of our application of best practices in this area,” said Mike Foster, CEO of Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand.

“We have made significant investments in our data centre infrastructure in Australia including a recent upgrade of the Noble Park facility. We are pleased to be awarded a 4-star NABERS rating; it is an excellent reflection of the focus we have placed on this important aspect of our business.”

More information on the NABERS Energy for Data Centres ratings is available on the NABERS website: www.nabers.gov.au.