Photovoltaic (PV) solar — which has become the lowest-cost form of energy in most major countries, according to the International Energy Agency — is set to play an increasing role in limiting the environmental footprint of edge data centers.Although…
Through their public commitments to net-zero carbon emission targets, cloud providers have re-energized talks in the data center sector of a major redesign of critical power systems. The elimination of diesel fuel use is chief among the goals, but…
Power purchase agreements (PPAs) are often a preferred method for data center operators to procure renewable electricity, but their fixed purchase price and duration (eight to 20 years) can pose significant financial and power management risks.Data…
A sector-wide focus on efficiency does not necessarily extend to many organizations’ centralized 3-phase uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems. Today, these systems routinely achieve 94% to 96% efficiency in normal operational mode. Economy …
Data center uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems are evolving. New technologies are enabling various electrical approaches. But will UPS systems of the future meet the changing requirements of operators? This report discusses UPS adoption…
Sustainability is becoming a key issue for data center operators. Investors, customers and legislators are increasingly demanding carbon emissions reporting and 100% renewable energy use. Organizations risk charges of greenwashing if purchased…
Following a scramble to effectively staff data centers during a pandemic, many wary managers are beginning to see remote monitoring and automation systems in a more positive light, including those driven by AI.The reasoning is clear. Against a…
Uptime Institute’s analysis shows that very substantial energy reduction opportunities remain untapped. While gains in M&E efficiency have stalled over the past few years, it remains that over 65% of the power used by IT in data centers is used to…
In 2012, Microsoft announced that it planned to eliminate engine generators at its big data center campus in Quincy, Washington. Six years later the same group, with much the same aspirations, filed for permission to install 72 diesel generators,…
We are often asked for our thoughts about the use of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in data center uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems. This is a relatively new, evolving technology, and there are still a lot of unknowns. In our…
The best-run data centers are those where managers have access to meaningful information about their facility’s assets and operational status. This report details the questions they need to ask when purchasing DCIM software.
In our October 2018 report, A mission-critical industry unprepared for climate change, Uptime Institute Intelligence urged data center operators and owners to plan for the effects of climate change. We specifically encouraged data center owners and…
An Uptime Institute Network member and a battery vendor wanted to know: Can you have lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in a Tier IV-Certified data center? The member noted Li-ion fires are very difficult to extinguish, citing the FM Global…
A furious — but late — response to the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA’s) proposed standard 855, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage, should put the whole data center industry on notice that it needs to increase…
Recently I attended the Data Center Dynamics (DCD) Smart Energy conference in Stockholm. During a panel discussion on energy, data centers and innovation, David Hall (Senior Director of Technology Innovation for Equinix) made two…
Dr. Tomas Rahkonen
Daniel Bizo
Jay Dietrich
Intelligence Team
Andy Lawrence
Chris Brown