LBNL-363E Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency: Public Law 109-431 Richard Brown, Eric Masanet, Bruce Nordman, Bill Tschudi, Arman Shehabi, John Stanley, Jonathan Koomey, Dale Sartor, Peter Chan Environmental Energy Technologies Division Joe Loper, Steve Capana Alliance to Save Energy Bruce Hedman, Rebecca Duff, Evan Haines ICF Incorporated Danielle Sass ERG Incorporated Andrew Fanara U.S. Environmental Protection Agency August 2007 This work was supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Protection Partnerships Division, Office of Air and Radiation, under Department of Energy contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Title: Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency: Public Law 109-431 Author: Brown, Richard Publication Date: 06-13-2008 Publication Info: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Permalink: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/74g2r0vg Keywords: data centers, computers, Energy Star, information technology, servers, energy forecasting, combined heat and power Abstract: This report was prepared in response to the request from Congress stated in Public Law 109-431 (H.R. 5646), "An Act to Study and Promote the Use of Energy Efficient Computer Servers in the United States." This report assesses current trends in energy use and energy costs of data centers and servers in the U.S. (especially Federal government facilities) and outlines existing and emerging opportunities for improved energy efficiency. It also makes recommendations for pursuing these energy-efficiency opportunities broadly across the country through the use of information and incentive-based programs. Copyright Information: All rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. Contact the author or original publisher for any necessary permissions. eScholarship is not the copyright owner for deposited works. Learn more at http://www.escholarship.org/help_copyright.html#reuse eScholarship provides open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California and delivers a dynamic research platform to scholars worldwide. DISCLAIMER This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the United States Government. 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Abstract This report was prepared in response to the request from Congress stated in Public Law 109-431 (H.R. 5646), “An Act to Study and Promote the Use of Energy Efficient Computer Servers in the United States.” This report assesses current trends in energy use and energy costs of data centers and servers in the U.S. (especially Federal government facilities) and outlines existing and emerging opportunities for improved energy efficiency. It also makes recommendations for pursuing these energy-efficiency opportunities broadly across the country through the use of information and incentive-based programs. Findings from this report include: • An estimate that data centers consumed about 61 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2006, roughly 1.5% of total U.S. electricity consumption, or about $4.5 billion in electricity costs. • Federal servers and data centers alone account for approximately 6 billion kWh (10%) of this electricity use, at a total electricity cost of about $450 million/year. • Assuming current trends continue, in 5 years the national energy consumption by servers and data centers is expected to nearly double, to nearly 100 billion kWh. • Existing technologies and strategies could reduce typical server energy use by an estimated 25% — even greater energy savings are possible with advanced technologies. • Assuming state-of-the-art energy efficiency practices are implemented throughout U.S. data centers, this projected energy use can be reduced by up to 55% compared to current efficiency trends. This report makes several recommendations for policies to achieve this savings potential. Among these recommendations are standardized performance measurement for data centers and their equipment, leadership on energy efficiency in federal data centers, a private sector energy challenge, information on best practices, and further research and development on energy efficiency technologies and practices. Table of Contents Table of Contents............................................................................................................................. i Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 4 Background ................................................................................................................................. 4 Energy Use in Data Centers Through 2011 ................................................................................ 7 Incentives and Voluntary Programs to Promote Energy Efficiency ......................................... 11 Recommendations..................................................................................................................... 13 Conclusions............................................................................................................................... 16 1. Introduction............................................................................................................................ 17 1.1. Background ..................................................................................................................... 17 1.2. Data Center Energy Use.................................................................................................. 17 1.3. Data Center Characteristics............................................................................................. 18 1.4. Energy Efficiency ........................................................................................................... 23 1.5. Purpose of this Report..................................................................................................... 23 2. Trends in Growth and Energy Use Associated with Servers and Data Centers in the U.S. .. 25 2.1. Overview of Data Center Growth Trends ....................................................................... 27 2.2. Estimates of U.S. Server and Data Center Energy Use .................................................. 31 2.3. Energy Use Associated with Federal Government Servers and Data Centers................ 39 3. Potential Energy and Cost Savings through Improved Energy Efficiency............................ 41 3.1. Expected Energy Savings from Current Energy Efficiency Trends ............................... 41 3.2. Opportunities for Additional Energy-Efficiency Savings............................................... 50 4. Electric Utility Impacts from Energy Efficiency in Servers and Data Centers ..................... 59 4.1. Methodology ................................................................................................................... 60 4.2. Electricity Generation Impacts . 62 4.3. Discussion of Transmission and Distribution Impacts ................................................... 63 5. Potential Impacts of Energy Efficiency on Product Performance, Reliability, Features, and Overall cost ................................................................................................................................... 67 5.1. Performance Impacts Resulting from IT Energy Efficiency Improvements .................. 68 5.2. Impact of Facilities Energy Efficiency on IT Equipment Performance ......................... 71 5.3. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 72 6. Distributed Generation and Combined Heat and Power Systems in Data Centers................ 73 6.1. Benefits of Clean DG and CHP for Data Centers........................................................... 73 6.2. DG Applications at Data Centers.................................................................................... 80 6.3. Issues Affecting Implementation of DG in Data Centers ............................................... 82 7. Current Energy Efficiency Programs Applicable to Data Centers ........................................ 84 7.1. Barriers to Energy Efficiency ......................................................................................... 84 7.2. Current Energy Efficiency Incentives and Voluntary Programs .................................... 89 8. Recommendations for Incentives and Voluntary Programs ................................................ 106 8.1. Policy Recommendations. 107 8.2. Recommendations for Research and Development Activities...................................... 117 8.3. Recommendations for Further Analysis ....................................................................... 119 References................................................................................................................................... 121 Acknowledgments....................................................................................................................... 129 i Acronyms and Abbreviations AC alternating current AEO Annual Energy Outlook AHU air handling unit ANSI American National Standards Institute ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers Btu British thermal unit CAGR compound annual growth rate CEMS continuous emissions monitoring system CEO chief executive officer CFO chief financial officer CIO chief information officer CHP combined heat and power CO carbon monoxide CO2 carbon dioxide CPU central processing unit CRAC computer room air conditioner CRAH computer room air handler CW chilled water DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DC direct current DCE data center efficiency DG distributed generation DOE U.S. Department of Energy DR demand response DSM demand-side management EERE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy EIA Energy Information Administration EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPAct 2005 Energy Policy Act of 2005 ESCO energy service company ESPC energy services performance contract 1 FEMP Federal Energy Management Program GPS global positioning system GSF gross square foot GW gigawatt HDD hard disk drive HVAC heating, ventilation, and air conditioning ICE Integrated Critical Environment IECC International Energy Conservation Code IT information technology kW kilowatt kWh kilowatt-hour LBNL Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design MAID massive array of idle disks MCFC molten carbonate fuel cell MMTCO2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide MW megawatt MWh megawatt-hour NAECA National Appliance Energy Conservation Act NEMS National Energy Modeling System NOx nitrogen oxides NYSERDA New York State Energy Research and Development Authority O&M operation and maintenance PAFC phosphoric acid fuel cell PBF public benefit fund PEM proton exchange membrane PG&E Pacific Gas & Electric Company PUE power usage effectiveness PV photovoltaic SPEC standard performance evaluation cooperation PDU power distribution unit PSRR physical server reduction ratio PSU power supply unit 2 PUE power usage effectiveness 15 Quad quadrillion (10 ) Btu R&D research and development RFID radio frequency identification SATA serial advanced technology attachment SCR selective catalytic reduction SGIP California Self Generation Incentive Program SI-EER site infrastructure energy-efficiency ratio SO2 sulfur dioxide SPEC Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation T&D transmission and distribution TCO total cost of ownership UEC unit energy consumption UESC utilities energy service contract UPS uninterruptible power supply VOIP voice over internet protocol VR voltage regulator 3