Best Practices for Data Centers: Lessons Learned from Benchmarking 22

Data Centers
Steve Greenberg, Evan Mills, and Bill Tschudi, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peter Rumsey, Rumsey Engineers
Bruce Myatt, EYP Mission Critical Facilities

ABSTRACT

Over the past few years, the authors benchmarked 22 data center buildings. From this
effort, we have determined that data centers can be over 40 times as energy intensive as
conventional office buildings. Studying the more efficient of these facilities enabled us to
compile a set of “best-practice” technologies for energy efficiency. These best practices include:
improved air management, emphasizing control and isolation of hot and cold air streams; right-
sizing central plants and ventilation systems to operate efficiently both at inception and as the
data center load increases over time; optimized central chiller plants, designed and controlled to
maximize overall cooling plant efficiency, central air-handling units, in lieu of distributed units;
“free cooling” from either air-side or water-side economizers; alternative humidity control,
including elimination of control conflicts and the use of direct evaporative cooling; improved
uninterruptible power supplies; high-efficiency computer power supplies; on-site generation
combined with special chillers for cooling using the waste heat; direct liquid cooling of racks or
computers; and lowering the standby losses of standby generation systems.
Other benchmarking findings include power densities from 5 to nearly 100 Watts per
square foot; though lower than originally predicted, these densities are growing. A 5:1 variation
in cooling effectiveness index (ratio of cooling power to computer power) was found, as well as
large variations in power distribution efficiency and overall center performance (ratio of
computer power to total building power). These observed variations indicate the potential of
energy savings achievable through the implementation of best practices in the design and
operation of data centers.

The Data Center Challenge

The energy used by a typical rack of state-of-the art servers, drawing 20 kilowatts of
power at 10 cents per kWh, uses more that $17,000 per year in electricity. Given that data centers
can hold hundreds of such racks, they constitute a very energy-intensive building type. Clearly,
efforts to improve energy efficiency in data centers can pay big dividends. But, where to start?
“You can’t manage what you don’t measure” is a mantra often recited by corporate
leaders (Tschudi et al 2005). Similarly, the high-availability needs of data center facilities can be
efficiently met using this philosophy. This paper presents a selected distillation of the extensive
benchmarking in 22 data centers which formed the basis for the development of 10 best-practice
guides for design and operation that summarized how better energy performance was obtained in
these actual facilities (LBNL 2006).
With typical annual energy costs per square foot 15 times (and in some cases over 40
times) that of typical office buildings, data centers are an important target for energy savings.
They operate continuously, which means that their electricity demand is always contributing to

© 2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-76

 peak utility system demands, an important fact given that utility pricing increasingly reflects
time-dependent tariffs. Energy-efficiency best practices can realize significant energy and peak-
power savings while maintaining or improving reliability, and yield other non-energy benefits.
Data centers ideally are buildings built primarily for computer equipment: to house it and
provide power and cooling to it. They can also be embedded in other buildings including high-
rise office buildings. In any event, a useful metric to help gauge the energy efficiency of the data
center is the computer power consumption index, or the fraction of the total data center power
(including computers, power conditioning, HVAC, lighting, and miscellaneous) to that used by
the computers (higher is better; a realistic maximum is in the 0.8 to 0.9 range, depending on
climate). As shown in Figure 1, this number varies by more than a factor of 2 from the worst
centers to the best we’ve benchmarked to date. Even the best have room for improvement,
suggesting that many centers have tremendous opportunities for greater energy efficiency.

Figure 1. Computer Power Consumption Index

Computer Power Consumption Index

0.74 0.75
0.70
0.68 0.67
0.66
0.63
0.60
Computer Power: Total Power

0.59 0.59 0.59

0.55
0.49 0.49
0.47
0.43 0.42
0.38
0.33

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Data Center Number

Note: all values are shown as a fraction of the respective data center total power consumption.

The following sections briefly cover data center best practices that have emerged from
studying these centers. The references and links offer further details.

Optimize Air Management

As computing power skyrockets, modern data centers are beginning to experience higher
concentrated heat loads (ASHRAE 2005a). In facilities of all sizes, from small data centers
housed in office buildings to large centers essentially dedicated to computer equipment, effective
air distribution has a significant impact on energy efficiency and equipment reliability. (Note that
computer equipment is also known as information technology or “IT” equipment.) Energy

© 2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-77

 benchmarking, using a metric that compares energy used for IT equipment to energy expended
for HVAC systems (see Figure 2), reveals that some centers perform better than others. For this
metric, a higher number indicates that proportionately more of the electrical power is being
provided to the computational equipment and less to cooling; in other words, the HVAC system
is more effective at removing the heat from the IT equipment. Note that there is a five-fold
variation from worst to best. This is due a number of factors, including how the cooling is
generated and distributed, but air management is a key part of effective and efficient cooling.

Figure 2. HVAC Effectiveness Index

HVAC Effectiveness Index

4.0
Computer Power: HVAC

3.5
3.0
2.5
Power

2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Data Center Number

Improving "Air management" - or optimizing the delivery of cool air and the collection
of waste heat - can involve many design and operational practices. Air cooling improvements
can often be made by addressing:

• short-circuiting of heated air over the top or around server racks

• cooled air short-circuiting back to air conditioning units through openings in raised floors
such as cable openings or misplaced floor tiles with openings
• misplacement of raised floor air discharge tiles
• poor location of computer room air conditioning units
• inadequate ceiling height or undersized hot air return plenum
• air blockages such as often happens with piping or large quantities of cabling under
raised floors
• openings in racks allowing air bypass (“short-circuit”) from hot areas to cold areas
• poor airflow through racks containing IT equipment due to restrictions in the rack
structure
• IT equipment with side or top-air-discharge adjacent to front-to-rear discharge
configurations
• Inappropriate under-floor pressurization - either too high or too low

© 2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-78

 The general goal for achieving better “air management” should be to minimize or
eliminate inadvertent mixing between cooling air supplied to the IT equipment and collection of
the hot air rejected from the equipment. Air distribution in a well-designed system can reduce
operating costs, reduce investment in HVAC equipment, allow for increased utilization, and
improve reliability by reducing processing interruptions or equipment degradation due to
overheating.
Some of the solutions to common air distribution problems include:

• Use of "hot aisle and cold aisle" arrangements where racks of computers are stacked with
the cold inlet sides facing each other and similarly the hot discharge sides facing each
other (see Figure 3 for a typical arrangement)

Figure 3. Typical Hot Aisle - Cold Aisle Arrangement

Note: air distribution may be from above or below.

• Sealing cable or other openings in under-floor distribution systems.

• Blanking unused spaces in and between equipment racks.
• Careful placement of computer room air conditioners and floor tile openings, often
through the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling.
• Collection of heated air through high overhead plenums or ductwork to efficiently return
it to the air handler(s).
• Minimizing obstructions to proper airflow

Right-Size the Design

Most data centers are designed based upon vague projections of future power needs.
Consequently they are often lightly loaded (compared to their design basis) throughout much, if
not all, of their life. Given that projections of IT equipment electrical requirements will remain
an inexact science, it is nonetheless important to size electrical and mechanical systems such that
they will operate efficiently while overall loading is well below design, yet be scalable to
accommodate larger loads should they develop.

© 2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-79

 Providing redundant capacity and sizing for true peak loads can be done in a manner that
improves overall system efficiency, but only if a system design approach is used that considers
efficiency among the design parameters. Upsizing duct/plenum and piping infrastructure used to
supply cooling to the data center offers significant operating cost and future flexibility benefits.
The use of variable-speed motor drives on chillers, pumps for chilled and condenser water, and
cooling tower fans, can significantly improve part-load performance over standard chiller-plant
design, especially when controlled in a coordinated way to minimize the overall chiller plant
energy use. Pursuing efficient design techniques such as medium-temperature cooling loops and
waterside free cooling can also mitigate the impact of oversizing by minimizing the use of
chillers for much of the year, and reducing their energy use when they do operate.
Cooling tower energy use represents a small portion of plant energy consumption and
upsizing towers can provide a significant improvement to chiller performance and waterside free
cooling system operation. There is little downside to upsizing cooling towers: a slight increase
in cost and footprint are required.

Optimize the Central Plant

Data centers offer a number of opportunities in central plant optimization, both in design
and operation. A medium-temperature chilled water loop design using 50-60°F chilled water
increases chiller efficiency and eliminates uncontrolled phantom dehumidification loads. The
condenser loop should also be optimized; a 5-7°F approach cooling tower plant with a condenser
water temperature reset pairs nicely with a variable speed (VFD) chiller to offer large energy
savings. A primary-only variable volume pumping system is well matched to modern chiller
equipment and offers fewer points of failure, lower first cost, and energy savings relatively to a
primary-secondary pumping scheme. Thermal energy storage can be a good option, and is
particularly suited for critical facilities where a ready store of cooling can have reliability
benefits as well as peak demand savings. Finally, monitoring the efficiency of the chilled water
plant is a requirement for optimization and basic energy and load monitoring sensors can quickly
pay for themselves in energy savings. If chiller plant efficiency is not independently measured,
achieving it is almost as much a matter of luck as design.
Cooling plant optimization consists of implementing several important principles:

• Design for medium temperature chilled water (50-55°F) in order to eliminate

uncontrolled dehumidification and reduce plant operating costs. Since the IT cooling load
is sensible only, operating the main cooling coils above the dewpoint temperature of the
air prevents unwanted dehumidification and also increases the chiller plant efficiency,
since the thermodynamic “lift” (temperature difference) between the chilled water and
the condenser water is reduced.
• Dehumidification, when required, is best centralized and handled by the ventilation air
system, while sensible cooling, the large majority of the load, is served by the medium
temperature chilled water system.
• Use aggressive chilled and condenser water temperature resets to maximize plant
efficiency. Specify cooling towers for a 5-7°F approach in order to improve chiller
economic performance.
• Design hydronic loops to operate chillers near design temperature differential, typically
achieved by using a variable flow evaporator design and staging controls.

© 2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-80

 • Primary-only variable flow pumping systems have fewer single points of failure, have a
low first cost (half as many pumps are required), are more efficient, and are more suitable
for modern chillers than primary-secondary configurations (Schwedler, 2002).
• Thermal storage can offer peak electrical demand savings and improved chilled water
system reliability. Thermal storage can be an economical alternative to additional
mechanical cooling capacity.
• Use efficient water-cooled chillers in a central chilled water plant. A high efficiency
VFD-equipped chiller with an appropriate condenser water reset is typically the most
efficient cooling option for large facilities. The VFD optimizes performance as the load
on the compressor varies. While data center space load typically does not change over the
course of the day, the load on the compressor does change as the condenser water supply
temperature varies. Also, as IT equipment is added or swapped for more-intensive
equipment, the load will increase over time.
• For peak efficiency and to allow for preventive maintenance, monitor chiller plant
efficiency. Monitoring the performance of the chillers and the overall plant is essential as
a commissioning tool as well as for everyday plant optimization and diagnosis.

Design for Efficient Air Handling

Better performance was observed in data center air systems that utilize custom-designed
central air handler systems. A centralized system offers several advantages over the traditional
multiple-distributed-unit system that evolved as an easy, drop-in computer room cooling
appliance. Centralized systems use fewer, larger motors and fans, which are generally more
efficient. They are also well-suited for variable-volume operation through the use of variable
frequency drives, to take advantage of the fact that the server racks are rarely fully loaded. A
centralized air handling system can improve efficiency by taking advantage of surplus and
redundant capacity. The maintenance-saving benefits of a central system are well known, and the
reduced footprint and maintenance personnel traffic in the data center are additional benefits.
Since central units are controlled centrally, they are less likely to “fight” one another (e.g.
simultaneous humidification and dehumidification) than distributed units with independent and
uncoordinated controls. Another reason that systems using central air handlers tend to be more
efficient is that the cooling source is usually a water-cooled chiller plant, which is typically
significantly more efficient than the cooling source for water-cooled or air-cooled computer
room units. Central air-handlers can also facilitate the use of outside-air economizers, as
discussed in the following section.

Capitalize on Free Cooling

Data center IT equipment cooling loads are almost constant during the year. "Free
cooling" can be provided through water-side economizers using evaporative cooling (usually
provided by cooling towers) to indirectly produce chilled water to cool the datacenter during
mild outdoor conditions found in many climates or at night. Free cooling is best suited for
climates that have wet bulb temperatures lower than 55°F for 3,000 or more hours per year. Free
cooling can improve the efficiency of the chilled water plant by lowering chilled water approach
temperatures (i.e. precooling the chilled water before it enters the chiller(s)), or completely
eliminate the need for compressor cooling depending upon the outdoor conditions and overall

© 2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-81

 system design. While operating with free cooling, chilled water plant energy consumption can
be reduced by up to 75% and there are related improvements in reliability and maintenance
through reductions in chiller operation. And since this solution doesn’t raise concerns over
contamination or humidity control for air entering the IT equipment, it can be an economic
alternative to air-side economizers (see below) for retrofitting existing chilled water cooled
centers with free cooling.
Air-side economizers can also effectively provide "free" cooling to data centers. Many
hours of cooling can be obtained at night and during mild conditions at a very low cost.
However this measure is somewhat more controversial. Data center professionals are split in the
perception of risk when using this strategy. It is standard practice, however, in the
telecommunications industry to equip their facilities with air-side economizers. Some IT-based
centers routinely use outside air without apparent complications, but others are concerned about
contamination and environmental control for the IT equipment in the room. We have observed
the use of outside air in several data center facilities, and recognize that outside air results in
energy-efficient operation. Some code authorities have mandated the use of economizers in data
centers. Currently LBNL is examining the validity of contamination concerns that are slowing its
implementation. ASHRAE's data center technical committee, TC 9.9, is also concerned with this
issue and plans to develop guidance in the future (ASHRAE 2005b). For now, simply using a
standard commercial building economizer should include an engineering evaluation of the local
climate and contamination conditions. In many areas, use of outside air may be beneficial,
however local risk factors should be known.
Control strategies to deal with temperature and humidity fluctuations must be considered
along with contamination concerns over particulates or gaseous pollutants. Mitigation steps may
involve filtration or other measures.
Data center architectural design requires that the configuration provide adequate access to
the outside if outside air is to be used for cooling. Central air handling units with roof intakes or
sidewall louvers are most commonly used, although some internally-located Computer Room Air
Conditioning (CRAC) units offer economizer capabilities when provided with appropriate intake
ducting.

Improve Humidification Systems and Controls

Data center design often introduces potential inefficiencies when it comes to humidity.
Tight humidity control is a carryover from old mainframe and tape storage eras and generally
can be relaxed or eliminated for many locations. Data centers attempting tight humidity control
were found to be simultaneously humidifying and dehumidifying in many of the benchmarking
case studies. This can take the form of either: inadvertent dehumidification at cooling coils that
run below the dew point of the air, requiring re-humidification to maintain desired humidity
levels; or some computer-room air-handling or air-conditioning units (independently controlled)
intentionally operating in dehumidification mode while others humidify. Fortunately, the
ASHRAE data center committee addressed this issue by developing guidance for allowable and
recommended temperatures and humidity supplied to the inlet of IT equipment (ASHRAE 2004).
This document presents much wider recommended and allowable ranges than previous designs
required. Since there is very little humidity load from within the center, there is very little need
for such control. Some centers handle the issue very effectively by performing humidity control
on the make-up air unit only. Humidifiers that use evaporative cooling methods (reducing the

© 2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-82

 temperature of the recirculated air while adding moisture) can be another very effective
alternative to conventional steam-generating systems. One very important consideration to
reducing unnecessary humidification is to operate the cooling coils of the air-handling equipment
above the dew point (usually by running chilled water temperatures above 50 degrees F), thus
eliminating unnecessary dehumidification.

Specify Efficient Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Systems and

Information Technology (IT) Equipment Power Supplies
There are two overarching strategies for reducing energy use in any facility: reducing the
load, and serving the remaining load efficiently. In the first category, one of the best strategies
for improving data center energy efficiency is to reduce the heat loads due to power conversion
both within IT equipment and the data center infrastructure. Power conversion from AC to DC
and back to AC occurs with battery UPS systems, resulting in large energy losses, which are then
compounded by the energy for cooling needed to remove the heat generated by the loss. To
make things worse, the efficiency of the power conversion drops off steeply when they are
lightly loaded - which is almost always the case due to desires to maintain redundancy and keep
each UPS loaded at around 40%. LBNL, along with subcontractors Ecos Consulting and EPRI
Solutions, measured UPS efficiencies throughout their operating range and found a wide
variation in performance; the delta and flywheel systems showed the highest efficiencies (Figure
4).

Figure 4. Tested UPS Efficiencies

Factory Measurements of UPS Efficiency

(tested using linear loads)
100%

95%

90%
Efficiency

85%

80% Flywheel UPS

Double-Conversion UPS
75%
Delta-Conversion UPS
70%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Percent of Rated Active Power Load

© 2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-83

 Simply by specifying a more efficient UPS system a 10-15% reduction in the powering of
IT equipment is possible along with a corresponding reduction in electrical power for cooling. In
other words, an immediate overall reduction of 10-15% in electrical demand for the entire data
center is possible. In addition to ongoing energy savings, downsizing HVAC and upstream
electrical systems (in new construction), results in reduced capital cost savings, or reserved
capacity for future load growth or additional reliability.
A similar phenomenon occurs within the IT equipment (e.g. servers), where multiple
power conversions typically occur. Conversion from AC to DC, and then multiple DC
conversions each contribute to the overall energy loss in IT equipment. LBNL found that a
similar wide range of efficiencies exist in power supplies used in servers. By specifying more
efficient power supplies, additional savings in both energy and capital costs can be obtained. And
any savings at the IT level are magnified by savings in the UPS and the balance of the power
distribution system.

Consider On-Site Generation

The combination of a nearly constant electrical load and the need for a high degree of
reliability make large datacenters well suited for on-site generation. To reduce first costs, on-site
generation equipment should replace the backup generator system. It provides both an alternative
to grid power and waste heat that can be used to meet other near-by heating needs or harvested to
cool the datacenter through absorption or adsorption chiller technologies. In some situations, the
surplus and redundant capacity of the on-site generation station can be operated to sell power
back to the grid, offsetting the generation plant capital cost.
There are several important principles to consider for on-site generation:

• On-site generation, including gas-fired reciprocating engines, micro-turbines, and fuel

cells, improves overall efficiency by allowing the capture and use of waste heat.
• Waste heat can be used to supply cooling required by the datacenter through the use of
absorption or adsorption chillers, reducing chilled water plant energy costs by well over
50%. In most situations, the use of waste heat is required to make site generation
financially attractive. This strategy reduces the overall electrical energy requirements of
the mechanical system by eliminating electricity use from the thermal component,
leaving only the electricity requirements of the auxiliary pump and motor loads.
• High-reliability generation systems can be sized and designed to be the primary power
source while utilizing the grid as a backup, thereby eliminating the need for standby
generators and, in some cases, UPS systems. Natural gas used as a fuel can be backed up
by propane.
• Where local utilities allow, surplus power can be sold back into the grid to offset the cost
of the generating equipment. Currently, the controls and utility coordination required to
configure a datacenter-suitable generating system for sellback can be complex but efforts
are underway in many localities to simplify the process.

Employ Liquid Cooling of Racks and Computers

Liquid cooling is a far more efficient method of transferring concentrated heat loads than
air, due to much higher volumetric specific heats and higher heat transfer coefficients. A high-

© 2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-84

 efficiency approach to cooling datacenter equipment is to transfer the waste heat from racks to a
liquid loop at the highest possible temperature. The most common current approach is to use a
chilled water coil integrated in some manner into the rack itself. Liquid cooling is adopted for
reasons beyond efficiency; it can also serve higher power densities (W/sf). Energy efficiencies
are typically realized because such systems allow the use of a medium temperature chilled water
loop (50-60°F rather than ~45°F) and by reducing the size and power consumption of fans
serving the data center. With some systems and climates, there is the possibility of cooling
without the use of mechanical refrigeration (cooling water circulated from a cooling tower would
be enough).
In the future, products may become available that allow for direct liquid cooling of chips
and equipment heat sinks more directly, via methods ranging from fluid passages in heat sinks to
spray cooling with refrigerant (e.g. SprayCool 2006) to submersion in a dielectric fluid. While
not currently widely available, such approaches hold promise and should be evaluated as they are
commercialized.
There are several key principles in direct liquid cooling:

• Water flow is a very efficient method of transporting heat. On a volume basis, it carries
approximately 3,500 times as much heat as air, and moving the water requires an order of
magnitude less energy. Water-cooled systems can thus save not just energy but space as
well.
• Cooling racks of IT equipment reliably and economically is the main purpose of the data
center cooling system; conditioning the remaining space in the data center room without
the rack load is a minor task in both difficulty and importance.
• Capturing heat at a high temperature directly from the racks allows for much greater use
of waterside economizer free cooling, which can reduce cooling energy use by 60% or
more when operating.
• Transferring heat from a small volume of hot air directly off the equipment to a chilled
water loop is more efficient than mixing hot air with a large volume of ambient air and
removing heat from the entire mixed volume. The water-cooled rack provides the
ultimate hot/cold air separation and can run at very high hot-side temperatures without
creating uncomfortably hot working conditions for occupants.
• Direct liquid cooling of components offers the greatest cooling system efficiency by
eliminating airflow needs entirely. When direct liquid component systems become
available, they should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Reduce Standby Loss of Standby Generation

Most data centers have engine-driven generators to back up the UPS system in the event
of a utility power failure. Such generators have relatively small but significant and easily
addressed standby losses. The biggest standby loss is the engine heater.
The engine heater, used to ensure rapid starting of the engine, typically uses more energy
than the generator will ever produce over the life of the facility. These heaters are usually set to
excessively high temperatures, based on specifications for emergency generators that have much
faster required start-up and loading time (seconds) rather than the minutes allowed for standby
generators in data center applications. Reducing setpoints from the typical 120°F to 70°F has

© 2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-85

 shown savings of 79% with no reduction in reliability; delaying the transfer switch transition to
the generator greatly reduces engine wear during the warm-up period (Schmidt, 2005).

Improve Design, Operations, and Maintenance Processes

Achieving best practices is not just a matter of substituting better technologies and
operational procedures. The broader institutional context of the design and decision-making
processes must also be addressed, as follows:

• Create a process for the IT, facilities, and design personnel to make decisions together. It
is important for everyone involved to appreciate the issues of the other parties.
• Institute an energy management program, integrated with other functions (risk
management, cost control, quality assurance, employee recognition, and training).
• Use life-cycle cost analysis as a decision-making tool, including energy price volatility
and non-energy benefits (e.g. reliability, environmental impacts).
• Create design intent documents to help involve all key stakeholders, and keep the team
on the same page, while clarifying and preserving the rationale for key design decisions.
• Adopt quantifiable goals based on Best Practices.
• Minimize construction and operating costs by introducing energy optimization at the
earliest phases of design.
• Include integrated monitoring, measuring and controls in the facility design.
• Benchmark existing facilities, track performance, and assess opportunities.
• Incorporate a comprehensive commissioning (quality assurance) process for construction
and retrofit projects.
• Include periodic “re-commissioning” in the overall facility maintenance program.
• Ensure that all facility operations staff receives site-specific training on identification and
proper operation of energy-efficiency features.

Summary

Through the study of 22 data centers, the following best practices have emerged:

• Improved air management, emphasizing control and isolation of hot and cold air streams.
• Right-sized central plants and ventilation systems to operate efficiently both at inception
and as the data center load increases over time.
• Optimized central chiller plants, designed and controlled to maximize overall cooling
plant efficiency, including the chillers, pumps, and towers.
• Central air-handling units with high fan efficiency, in lieu of distributed units.
• Air-side or water-side economizers, operating in series with, or in lieu of, compressor-
based cooling, to provide “free cooling” when ambient conditions allow.
• Alternative humidity control, including elimination of simultaneous humidification and
dehumidification, and the use of direct evaporative cooling.
• Improved configuration and operation of uninterruptible power supplies.
• High-efficiency computer power supplies to reduce load at the racks.

© 2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-86

 • On-site generation combined with adsorption or absorption chillers for cooling using the
waste heat, ideally with grid interconnection to allow power sales to the utility.
• Direct liquid cooling of racks or computers, for energy and space savings.
• Reduced standby losses of standby generation systems.
• Processes for designing, operating, and maintaining data centers that result in more
functional, reliable, and energy-efficient data centers throughout their life cycle.

Implementing these best practices for new centers and as retrofits can be very cost-
effective due to the high energy intensity of data centers. Making information available to
design, facilities, and IT personnel is central to this process. To this end, LBNL has recently
developed a self-paced on-line training resource, which includes further detail on how to
implement best practices and tools that can assist data center operators and service providers in
capturing the energy savings potential. See http://hightech.lbl.gov/DCTraining/top.html

References
ASHRAE 2004. Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments. TC 9.9 Mission Critical
Facilities. Atlanta, Geor.: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-
Conditioning Engineers.

ASHRAE 2005a. Datacom Equipment Power Trends and Cooling Applications. TC 9.9.

ASHRAE 2005b. Design Considerations for Datacom Equipment Centers. TC 9.9.

LBNL 2006. http://hightech.lbl.gov/datacenters.html. “High-Performance Buildings for High-

Tech Industries, Data Centers”. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory.

RMI 2003. Design Recommendations for High-Performance Data Centers – Report of the
Integrated Design Charrette. Snowmass, Colo.: Rocky Mountain Institute.

Schwedler, Mick, P.E., 2002. “Variable-Primary-Flow Systems Revisited”, Trane Engineers

Newsletter, Volume 31, No. 4.

Schmitt, Curtis. (Emcor Group). 2004. Personal communication. June 15.

SprayCool 2006. “Spray cooling technology for computer chips”. http://www.spraycool.com/

Liberty Lake, Wash.: Isothermal Systems Research.

Tschudi, W., P. Rumsey, E. Mills, T. Xu. 2005. "Measuring and Managing Energy Use in
Cleanrooms." HPAC Engineering, December.

© 2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-87