A NEW APPROACH TO ENERGY MANAGEMENT
REDUCING DEPENDENCE ON THE GRID
CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTS
54
“Rising temperatures are putting strain on cooling infrastructure within data centres ”
— Billy Durie , Aggreko
become more common , data centres face an uphill battle to avoid disruption from fire , flooding or even something as innocuous as a humidity spike .
If data centre operators are to reduce their consumption of energy , while sustaining the industry ’ s growth and continue operating in an increasingly unstable world , there needs to be significant change in the way that these organisations approach energy management .
A NEW APPROACH TO ENERGY MANAGEMENT
Luckily , there are solution providers in the industry , like Aggreko and Centrica Business Solutions , working to provide the tools that the data centre industry needs to overcome the challenges ahead .
REDUCING DEPENDENCE ON THE GRID
“ For data centres , exponentially increasing energy needs means relying on the grid solely for their supply may soon become a challenge – a particular concern for an industry whose ability to deliver their service to customers directly hinges on having a consistent , reliable and sizable supply of electricity ,” Marren notes . On-site power generation is not a new concept in the data centre industry , as power redundancy and backup systems are essential to avoiding a disruption of services in the event of an emergency or natural disaster . Marren asserts , however , that on-site generation may be approaching a point where it is able – and desperately needs – to step out of the shadows .
“ More and more , we ’ re seeing technologies such as natural gas generators being used within a data centre ’ s energy needs – a frontline function they were never intended for ,” Marren explains . “ By instead producing energy on-site , data centres can not only take control of their own supply , but can also begin to tackle their other key challenge – their carbon
DECEMBER 2020