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EPA Sends Data Center Power Study to Congress
BDPrime writes "We've all been hearing ad nauseum about power and cooling issues in the data center. Now the EPA has issued a final report to Congress detailing the problem and what might be done to fix it. Most likely what will happen is the EPA will add servers and data centers into its Energy Star program. If you don't feel like reading the entire 133-page report, the 14-page executive summary is a little easier to get through."
The road to tyranny has always been paved with claims of necessity.
1.5% of the total electricity used in the US per year is a huge number. It's like when politicians talk about something really expensive and they say "oh, it's only 1% of our GDP" to make it sound not so bad, except to people who know just how enormous the GDP of this country is.
More importantly, this could probably be reduced considerably without major disruptions or reduction in quality of service by just embracing higher efficiency components in our datacenter equipment (especially servers).
I read the internet for the articles.
Ya know, I always wondered why most places weren't more efficient about the cooling of their datacenters... particularly in the winter. Like it'll be 20 degrees F outside and they're STILL running A/C for the computers. WTF? Just vent a small amount of the outside air into the datacenter and you're done. Or better yet, just blow in the air from the offices and send them warm, data center heated air.
Another question, why do we vent the exhaust from our refrigerators into the house during the summer? Just seems like there's a lot you could do to save energy just by moving what would outerwise be waste heat to places where it can either be used or at least not cause a larger cooling problem.
"THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
Climate controlled. There's this element among building planners that think any outside air is bad(TM). That's why, even in small buildings where you don't have to worry about pressure differentials blowing windows out like you do in skyscrapers, you can't open a frick'n window in the Fall or Spring when the air smells wonderful and there's this perfect chill in the air the just stimulates the brain.
I'm drenched in sweat here in Hotlanta (it's 82F and 66% humidity and climbing to 94) and I really miss New England's Spring and Fall.
I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
Of course the (average) price of electricity is figured into it. That is the PROBLEM.
It is a (self-perpetuating) prisoner's dilemma. The more power consumption you can squeeze into the smallest space, the better of a deal you get. Since it's all averaged out, those using more power than average are getting subsidized by those who do not. It's basically stupid to invest in power-saving tech, since your hosting bill won't be any cheaper. However, this has gradually, yet significantly, raises hosting costs for all.
It's a terrible system, that has single-handedly led to the wholly unnatural market for cramped and massively hot 1U servers.
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