Data Management Glossary
Data Center Emissions
Data center emissions are the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by data centers during their operations. Data centers consume significant amounts of energy to power and cool their IT infrastructure, and this energy consumption often leads to the generation of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other GHG emissions. See Data Center Consolidation and Data Storage Costs.)
What contributes to data center emissions?
Traditionally the factors contributing to data center emissions have focused on the IT operations management of the physical location(s) such as:
- Electricity Consumption: The primary source of emissions in data centers is the electricity consumed to power the IT equipment, cooling systems, lighting, and other supporting infrastructure. The majority of data centers rely on electricity generated from fossil fuel sources such as coal, natural gas, or oil, which results in the release of CO2 and other GHGs.
- Cooling Systems: Data centers require cooling systems to maintain optimal operating temperatures for their IT equipment. Traditional cooling methods, such as air conditioning and refrigeration, consume significant amounts of energy, contributing to emissions. However, more energy-efficient cooling technologies, such as free cooling or liquid cooling, can help reduce emissions associated with cooling.
- Backup Power: Data centers often rely on backup power systems, such as diesel generators, to ensure continuous operations in case of a power outage. The use of backup power systems can contribute to emissions, especially if they run on fossil fuels.
- Infrastructure Efficiency: The energy efficiency of data center infrastructure plays a crucial role in emissions. Inefficient equipment, power distribution systems, and cooling mechanisms result in higher energy consumption and emissions. Implementing energy-efficient technologies and optimizing infrastructure can help reduce emissions.
Strategies to mitigate data center emissions
Again, with the focus on the physical operations of the data center, traditional strategies to reduce data center emissions include:
- Energy Efficiency: Improving energy efficiency within data centers can significantly reduce emissions. This includes using energy-efficient IT equipment, optimizing cooling systems, implementing advanced power management techniques, and adopting server virtualization to maximize resource utilization.
- Renewable Energy: Transitioning to renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, or hydroelectric power, can help reduce the carbon footprint of data centers. Many organizations are investing in renewable energy projects or purchasing renewable energy credits to offset their electricity consumption.
- Data Center Design: Implementing energy-efficient data center designs, including proper airflow management, efficient equipment layout, and insulation, can optimize energy usage and reduce emissions.
- Lifecycle Management: Proper lifecycle management of IT equipment, including responsible disposal and recycling, can help minimize the environmental impact and emissions associated with data center operations.
- Carbon Offsetting: Some organizations choose to offset their emissions by investing in carbon offset projects. These projects aim to reduce or remove CO2 from the atmosphere, such as through reforestation or renewable energy projects.
Despite the shift to the cloud and increasingly hybrid and consolidated data centers, emissions continue to be a major a concern as the demand for lower cost data storage in the face of massive unstructured data growth as well as the demand processing power and high performance continues to grow. And while the industry continues to focus on sustainability by adopting energy-efficient practices, leveraging renewable energy sources, and seeking new ways to reduce emissions, the environmental impact of data center emissions cannot be denied.
Data Management and Data Center Emissions
It is only recently that enterprise IT organizations have been to focus on unstructured data management, as opposed to storage management, as a means to reduce data center emissions. In a post on the Azure Storage blog, the point is made about the true cost of traditional file data. The post points out that storage is only 25% of file data costs:
When looking at the storage cost of file data, you need to consider that the cost of file data is at least three to four times higher than the cost of the file storage itself. The reason is that beyond storage, IT teams must also protect it with backups and replicate it for disaster recovery.
The point is that with better data management practices, data growth will be managed, emissions (and costs) will be reduced.
Read the eBook: 8 Ways to Reduce File Storage and Backup Costs.
