Utility Energy Efficiency Programs for Data Centers and Distributed Information Technology Devices
Introduction
The past two decades have seen an incredible proliferation of energy-consuming IT devices that have penetrated virtually every area of the U.S. economy. Servers, whether deployed in closets or in large data centers, desktop computers, and mobile computing devices of all types have transformed the way in which our society exchanges information and conducts business.
This expansion of IT equipment deployment has also created an unintended consequence: an increasing portion of our energy use is now devoted to IT. Indeed, data and distributed IT device energy use represents one of the fastest-growing sectors of commercial and institutional (example: government, education) energy consumption.
The good news is that recent advances in the energy efficiency of IT equipment, combined with innovative methods for managing its energy consumption when not in use, have created a large and relatively untapped opportunity for capturing energy savings. The bad news is that despite these advances, consumers have been slow to purchase efficient IT equipment and/or to manage it for maximum efficiency. The reasons for this slowness are complex and varied, but the impact is clear: huge amounts of energy are unnecessarily wasted as a result of inefficient and poorly managed IT devices.
For utilities and other energy efficiency organizations looking to curb energy use and demand in their service areas through energy efficiency programs, there is a growing set of proven, cost-effective program designs addressing the opportunities in this fast-growing sector. Further, there are increasing opportunities for the utility regulatory community, in partnership with federal government agencies such as the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency, to support this nascent energy efficiency market by ensuring appropriate program evaluations.
707KB
We are sorry, This PDF is available in download format only
Utility Energy Efficiency Programs for Data Centers and Distributed Information Technology Devices
Introduction
The past two decades have seen an incredible proliferation of energy-consuming IT devices that have penetrated virtually every area of the U.S. economy. Servers, whether deployed in closets or in large data centers, desktop computers, and mobile computing devices of all types have transformed the way in which our society exchanges information and conducts business.
This expansion of IT equipment deployment has also created an unintended consequence: an increasing portion of our energy use is now devoted to IT. Indeed, data and distributed IT device energy use represents one of the fastest-growing sectors of commercial and institutional (example: government, education) energy consumption.
The good news is that recent advances in the energy efficiency of IT equipment, combined with innovative methods for managing its energy consumption when not in use, have created a large and relatively untapped opportunity for capturing energy savings. The bad news is that despite these advances, consumers have been slow to purchase efficient IT equipment and/or to manage it for maximum efficiency. The reasons for this slowness are complex and varied, but the impact is clear: huge amounts of energy are unnecessarily wasted as a result of inefficient and poorly managed IT devices.
For utilities and other energy efficiency organizations looking to curb energy use and demand in their service areas through energy efficiency programs, there is a growing set of proven, cost-effective program designs addressing the opportunities in this fast-growing sector. Further, there are increasing opportunities for the utility regulatory community, in partnership with federal government agencies such as the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency, to support this nascent energy efficiency market by ensuring appropriate program evaluations.
