There are a lot of complex issues to be solved when aiming to make any facility more sustainable.  Meeting sustainability and energy efficiency goals in data centers can seem daunting, especially as new systems become available and the overall density is on the rise faster than ever before.  Getting back to the basics on the design and implementation of the supporting building systems may seem like smaller areas to focus on, they do add up when counting every watt, drop, and btu.  This presents another opportunity for professionals to elevate their practices and incorporate new technologies to enhance their data centers.  When combined and working across disciplines, the aggregate totals yield noticeable savings and improvements, which all aids in reducing the environmental impact. 

Below is a short list on the basic points of designing, retrofitting, and construction that should not be overlooked on a data center, whether just for the administrative spaces or the entire facility.

• Mechanical & cooling:
  • Variable speed: adding variable speed to every motor controlling pumps and fans may seem like the best approach, but the controls and total savings should be reviewed to make sure this makes the most environmental sense. 
  • Variable refrigerant flow (VRF): no longer new, VRF systems can improve specific areas of a facility with better control over cooling for spaces supporting the carbon-based (human) needs.
  • Controls: building automation systems can spiral into a dauntingly complex web.  Today’s systems and operators should be aiming to simplify for all of the users, and follow up with additional AI-empowered monitoring to help detect issues or areas for improvement. 
  • Energy recovery/reuse: data centers have a lot of heat to be rejected; exploring means and methods to capture this lower-grade heat can reduce the energy used on both the cooling and heating systems. 
  • Chillers revisited: if chillers are used, take a deep dive with the manufacturer on how to best operate the equipment over a number of load scenarios to optimize performance. 
    
• Plumbing & water:
  • Low flow fixtures: replacing fixtures in bathrooms with low flow does help
  • Gray water: explore whether a new gray water system might be available in your area and what could be supported by it. 
  • Cooling tower improvements: implementing a new water treatment technology can instantly save water as well as increase the cycles of concentration.  Drift eliminators could be explored as a quick improvement. 
  • Rainwater: although not allowed everywhere, collecting rainwater for use as an on-site gray water system has become easier to implement. 
    
• Electrical & power:
  • Power correction: improving the power factors along the path from the grid to the chip will reduce losses.  Integrating monitoring of the power supply can help with understanding the devices and locations that are most effective. 
  • Controls (again): monitoring the many devices adds up fast; organizing them and adding intelligent controls will pay back when the system is able to see and switch to backup power, optimize power sources from a microgrid, or detect zombie servers. 
  • Renewables: on-site solar or wind are now more than worthwhile to offset the ancillary power loads (admin, lighting, non-essentials) of a data center. 
  • Lighting: change over any aged lighting to LED with improved controls to reduce the energy use.     

Although these may seem basic, revisiting and driving to get these implemented help with achieving better building performance, reducing environmental impact as well as improving the PUE and WUE.