Ripping up the old blueprint: How to create data centres that are sustainable by design

Extreme energy consumption throughout the data centre industry is contributing to the creation of significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is down to the growing demand for services such as cloud computing, data storage and webhosting.

While services like cloud computing are traditionally a greener alternative, this is only true if the services are managed sustainably. Worryingly, the European Commission now estimates that by 2030, EU data centre energy use will increase from 2.7 per cent to 3.2 per cent of the Union’s total demand. This would place the industry’s emissions almost on par with pollution from the EU’s international aviation. As these markets grow, choosing the right provider is becoming increasingly important. Businesses are now demanding that providers demonstrate genuine sustainability.

A flaw in the design

To meet these expectations, data centre owners must focus on sustainable design and operation. Appetite for change is in the air, but providers are apprehensive about taking the first step towards moving the sustainability needle.

The catch? Uncertainty.

Most businesses don’t fully grasp sustainability. Not because they don’t care, but because they simply don’t know where to start. This often leads to them continuing as they have been, implementing half measures and turning to quick fixes like carbon offsetting, which is just the tip of the environmental impact iceberg.

True sustainability requires continuous effort, a willingness to learn and a thoughtful integration of technology. Embracing this mindset, let’s explore the specific steps that data centre owners can take to build a greener future.

Step-by-step: forgetting off-the-rack design

For data centre owners looking to address harmful energy consumption in its tracks, rebuilding or relocating can hold a lot of answers. In doing so, we believe there are four steps that ensures construction keeps sustainability at its core.

First of all, providers must carefully consider location. This means finding a space that’s close to a power facility. Bonus points go to those that find a renewable source. This is because distance matters. If electricity travels a long way between generation and use, a proportion is lost. Besides this, data centres located in cooler climates or underwater can cut down on the energy required for cooling.

Next, it’s time to think about design and materials. Instead of completely reinventing the wheel, providers can pull a sustainably conscious blueprint from the existing catalogue and tweak it to meet their needs. The result? Modular design.

Instead of creating a huge facility from scratch, modular design allows for gradual construction. By doing this, each new module of the centre can be purposefully built on demand with cooling and energy efficiency in mind. Nothing is produced for the sake of it.

This supports reusability as modules can be easily repurposed and relocated, as well as made near the final destination. Thereby, minimising transportation. Fewer trips in a truck, mean fewer steps on the carbon pedometer. Once a design has been agreed, providers must focus their attention on materials. From laying sustainable concrete made with fly ash to using low-emission paint that emits fewer volatile organic compounds (VOC), a few simple switches can drastically reduce carbon output.

Now, with the building blocks beginning to fall into place, providers must consider implementing efficient and renewable technology. It offers powerful ways to enhance energy efficiency when it comes to data centre storage.

Some providers have been investing in algorithms, software and hardware designed to optimise energy usage. For example, introducing frequency scaling, which adjusts the power usage of processors based on the workload, or AI and machine learning algorithms can significantly improve how data centres manage power consumption and cooling.

Alongside this, data centre owners that are concerned about whether sustainable design presents a threat to performance should think about high efficiency uninterruptable power supplies (UPS) and power distribution units (PDU).

When operations are running smoothly, the former sits back and waits. However, when an outage occurs the UPS jumps into action and keeps the digital environment running. They are designed to generate less heat and require minimal energy.

Finally, data centre owners can’t forget virtualisation and server optimisation. This means a data centre can provide high levels of service without using a copious number of servers. Virtualisation and optimisation help servers to perform well, save providers money and use minimal energy.

How does it work? Like a chest of drawers, virtualisation breaks a single computer into several different server compartments. Despite using the same hardware, this means each server can run its separate activity. In doing so, the original computers power is more efficiently used. As a result, the business can improve its resource usage, boost energy efficiency and scope for scalability.

Despite the clear benefits of greener data centres, some challenges cannot be overlooked. Primarily, the upfront costs associated with sustainable design and advanced technology can be substantial. Investing in renewable energy sources, energy-efficient hardware and innovative construction materials often requires a higher initial financial outlay. Sometimes, the newest sustainable technologies might not meet high-performance and scalability demands.

While these obstacles are significant, they are not insurmountable. By planning strategically and considering long-term savings on energy costs and potential tax incentives, companies can overcome these barriers. Addressing these challenges head-on prepares businesses for a greener future and strengthens their resilience against stricter environmental policies in the future.

Designing a more sustainable tomorrow

As it stands, the data centre industry is a key climate change culprit. And its dangerous energy consumption is slowly spiralling out of control. However, it needn’t be that way. Instead, organisations can rip up the old rulebook and reinvent how data centres are designed and operated to place sustainability at the core.

True sustainability isn’t a quick fix. It’s not a sticking plaster. It takes time. For businesses choosing to make this transition by building or relocating their data centres, it’s essential to bear location, design and materials, renewable technology and server optimisation in mind.