International pressure is forcing organisations to slash their energy consumption in order to reduce their carbon footprint and impact on the environment.
According to Drive Control Corporation (DCC), organisations that do not reduce energy consumption by the prescribed amount may face heavy financial penalties.
Robert Brand, APC product specialist at distributor DCC, says: "Many organisations do not realise it is possible to have both reliable and efficient data centres. When it comes to data centres, they can be designed from the ground up to be exceptionally energy-efficient and new technology can actually improve reliability.”
Power hungry
According to Brand, data centres are among the most energy-hungry areas within an organisation, consuming between five and 50 times as much power as standard office facilities. He says this should be one of the first places to start when looking to reduce energy consumption.
A DCC statement suggests that improving the performance of data centres involves intelligent design and products in terms of power, cooling and lighting. Air conditioners can now be installed next to data racks, with inbuilt sensors to supply cooling as and when it is needed, instead of constantly running at full speed.
Green innovations
Bruce Byrne, visual communications specialist at DCC, adds that intelligent power sensors are being built on high-end screens which detect user presence and automatically adjusts the performance of the screen; saving 50% of power consumption.
Vassen Naicker, Western Digital product specialist at DCC, says computer manufacturers are building green platforms with higher capacity and reduced energy consumption, which he says not only benefits the environment, but the organisation as well.
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