In the last decade, global internet traffic increased ten-fold and data center storage capacity increased by a factor of 25. To grow capacity sustainability, green data centers and cloud operators are making incredible advancements in energy efficiency. They are deploying state-of-the-art hyper-efficient equipment and cooling technology, generating renewable energy onsite, and pursuing other innovations like building data centers underground and underwater, developing artificial intelligence that can predict environmental conditions and optimize operations, and reusing waste heat to cool nearby homes and buildings.
Modern data centers are complex, and there are many ways to measure sustainability. Here are some of the most common data center sustainability metrics data center managers use to track their efficiency.
Metric | Calculation | Unit | Goal | Measures |
Air Economizer Utilization Factor (AEUF) | Time Air Economizer in Use / Total Time | Percentage | Maximize | How often outside air is used for free cooling |
Airflow Efficiency | Fan Power / Airflow | W / cfm | Minimize | How efficiently air moves from the supply to the return |
Cabinets Compliant with ASHRAE Standards | Racks in ASHRAE Recommended Range / Total Racks | Percentage | Maximize | How much progress is made towards ideal environmental conditions |
Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE) | CO2 Emissions / IT Energy | kg CO2 / kWh | Minimize | What the overall sustainability of a data center is |
CO2 Savings | Possible CO2 Emissions / Actual CO2 Emissions | Ratio | Maximize | How many CO2 emissions were avoided due to efficiency efforts |
Cooling Capacity Factor (CCF) | Cooling Capacity / Critical Load | Ratio | Minimize | What the overall efficiency of a data center's cooling system is |
Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency (DCiE) | IT Energy / Facility Energy | Percentage | Maximize | How much of total facility energy is used by IT equipment |
Data Center Performance Efficiency (DCPE) | Useful Work / Facility Energy | Work / kWh | Maximize | How efficiently the data center is performing work |
Data Center Performance Per Energy (DPPE) | Work / (Total Energy - Green Energy) | Ratio | Maximize | Energy efficiency of the entire data center including both IT equipment and infrastructure |
Data Center Power Density (DCPD) | Rack Power Consumption / Rack | kW / Rack | Maximize | How rack power consumption compares to rack power capacity |
Data Center Space Efficiency (DCSE) | RU Space Utilization x Floor Space Utilization | Percentage | Maximize | How efficiently data center space is used |
Delta-T Per Cabinet | Exhaust Temperature - Intake Temperature | °C or °F | Optimize | How effective airflow is at cooling equipment |
Deployed Hardware Utilization Efficiency (DH-UE) | Minimum Systems to Handle Peak Load / Total Systems | Percentage | Maximize | How efficiently servers and storage systems are utilized |
Deployed Hardware Utilization Ratio (DH-UR) | Servers Running Live Applications / Total Servers | Percentage | Maximize | How much power is wasted by idle systems |
Energy Reuse Effectiveness (ERE) | (Total Energy - Reused Energy) / IT Energy | Ratio | Minimize | What the overall energy efficiency is if energy is being reused outside the data center |
Energy Reuse Factor (ERF) | Reused Energy / Total Energy | Percentage | Maximize | How much energy in the data center is reused elsewhere in the facility |
Fixed to Variable Energy Ratio (FVER) | Fixed Energy / Variable Energy | Ratio | Minimize | How much energy can be targeted for reduction or elimination |
Green Energy Coefficient (GEC) | Green Energy / Total Energy | Percentage | Maximize | How much renewable energy was generated onsite |
Grid Utilization Factor (GUF) | Time Locally Generated Energy Covers Energy Demand / Total Time | Percentage | Minimize | How often the data center is powered by energy generated onsite |
HVAC System Effectiveness (HSE) | IT Energy / HVAC Energy | Ratio | Maximize | What the overall efficiency of a data center's cooling system is |
IT Equipment Energy Efficiency (ITEE) | IT Capacity / IT Energy | Ratio | Maximize | What the efficiency of power capacity utilization by IT devices is |
Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) | Facility Energy / IT Energy | Ratio | Minimize | How much total facility power is devoted to IT equipment |
Space, Wattage, and Performance (SWaP) | Performance / (Space x Watts) | Ratio | Maximize | How efficient servers are within the constraints of space and power |
Stranded Power Capacity Per Rack | Budgeted Rack Power - Actual Rack Power | kW / Rack | Minimize | How much additional equipment can be deployed in existing cabinet resources |
Technology Carbon Efficiency (TCE) | CO2 Emissions / Facility Energy | bs CO2 / kWh | Minimize | How clean the energy consumed by a data center is |
Temperature Per Cabinet | - | °C or °F | Optimize | If equipment is being inefficiently overcooled |
UPS Energy Efficiency (UPEE) | Input Powering the Load and Connected Systems / Total Input Power | Percentage | Maximize | How much energy is wasted running a UPS |
UPS Power Factor (UPF) | Actual Energy Consumed / Apparent Power | Ratio | Maximize | How efficiently a UPS uses power |
Water Economizer Utilization Factor (WEUF) | Time Water Economizer in Use / Total Time | Percentage | Maximize | How often indirect water cooling is used |
Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) | Water Usage / IT Energy | Ratio | Minimize | How efficiently water is being used in the data center |
Drive Sustainability in Your Data Center with DCIM Software
Measuring data center sustainability metrics and driving energy efficiency isn’t just for hyperscalers. All data center managers need to improve efficiency, reduce operating costs, and comply with corporate and governmental sustainability initiatives.
Leading experts deploy Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software to support their energy efficiency objectives.
DCIM software makes it easy to:
- Measure energy consumption so you have the data to make more intelligent decisions
- Get real-time charts and reports on energy metrics like PUE
- Create billback reports to facilitate more energy-efficient behaviors from customers
- Avoid overcooling and wasting energy without sacrificing performance
- Identify power-hungry equipment that should be replaced
- Design your physical infrastructure for optimal efficiency
- Intelligently consolidate and virtualize resources
Take a free test drive of the world’s best DCIM software to see how you can improve sustainability in your data center.
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