The cloud, AI, and smart devices… oh my! Our modern world's growing digital infrastructure demands a lot of electricity to run how we want it to (don’t you expect a webpage to load instantly?). However, high energy consumption can impact the operational costs and sustainability efforts of data centers and physical facilities, powering all that growth.
We recently wrote about the accelerated expansion of data centers and the importance of improving energy efficiency. Now, let’s explore specific data center innovations that make a difference.
Functional Devices prioritizes energy efficiency in our relays, current sensors, transformers, and other devices for building automation and lighting controls. These electrical components play a key part in the efficiency of data centers, so installing energy-saving products is imperative. Contact us to learn more.
Key Data Center Innovations Enhancing Energy Efficiency
Since we will keep witnessing technological revolutions in the future, sustainable, energy-smart data centers are a must. Here are the top innovations in data center energy efficiency.
Renewable Energy Sources
You know how the price of oil likes to go up and down like a wild roller coaster ride? Enter our first innovation: the kiddie ride of renewables.
Turning to renewable energy sources, like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, can reduce data centers' carbon footprints, meet sustainability goals, and become less reliant on an international power grid. Depending on local infrastructure (necessary for renewable energy) results in a more predictable and stable power supply. As renewable technologies continue to develop, going green will also provide long-term cost savings.
For example, one of the largest companies serious about energy usage is Google, which plans to use 24/7 carbon-free energy across its entire global data center network by 2030.
Advanced Cooling Technologies
Next on our list is a technological innovation. It might not seem fancy, but improved cooling technologies are essential for energy efficiency. Cooling down servers requires substantial energy (usually between 40 and 70 percent of the data center’s total consumption!). So, it goes without saying that better cooling technologies will improve overall efficiency.
There are different options for advanced cooling technologies. Here are the top contenders:
- Liquid cooling: direct-to-chip, microchannel, and microconvective
- Geothermal cooling
- Two-phase immersion cooling
- Calibrated vector cooling
- Direct evaporative cooling
Fortunately, data center operators have several efficient cooling options, and technologies are poised to advance even further.
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
What better way to improve data center performance than by employing the very technology that’s demanding more energy? As machine learning algorithms analyze energy consumption patterns, artificial intelligence (AI) can respond to real-time computing demands, perform predictive maintenance, optimize energy-intensive areas, and reduce downtime and operational costs.
Smart energy management of data centers has the benefits of:
- Preventing equipment failures
- Improving performance while reducing consumption
- Detecting issues proactively
- Enhanced security
- Reduced costs
- Automation and workload optimization
- More operational complexity
We’re interested to see where AI in data centers goes over the next few years as it becomes more interwoven into our digital infrastructure (more so than it already is!).
Automated Energy Management Systems
In your commercial building, automation makes everything easier. Whether it’s a building automation system (BAS) that operates your various systems (HVAC, lighting, etc.) or an automated energy management system (AEMS) that automatically makes adjustments to power distribution, automation enters the arena as a key energy efficiency player.
AI-driven automation can dynamically manage energy consumption. For example, an AEMS can:
- Automate control actions like cooling settings, power distribution, server power states, and capacity management
- Provide real-time, continuous power analytics for optimization
- Identify inefficiencies and predict future energy needs based on demand fluctuations
- Balance loads to optimize server workloads and reduce energy waste
- Integrate with smart grids for improved efficiency and demand response
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Energy-Efficient Hardware and Infrastructure
Now for the components of the data center itself. Hardware and infrastructure developments contribute significantly to its efficiency as a whole.
Here are some technological advancements leading the way in efficiency:
- Low-power processors
- Power capping features
- High-efficiency servers and cooling designs
- Modular data centers and optimized layouts
- Better battery storage, including tiered storage and data deduplication and compression
- Alternative power backup solutions
- More efficient relays, current sensors, and transformers
Smart Grid and Microgrid Integration
The last innovation we want to touch on ties in some characteristics of others on this list, namely more reliance on renewable energy and local energy sources, AI, and automation. Integrating a data center with a smart grid and/or microgrid results in the data center operating more independently and efficiently.
A microgrid is a local electrical network that operates independently or is connected to the main power grid. It might also use smart grid technology, which allows digital communications to detect and respond to local changes in energy consumption.
Together, the two technologies can enable more:
- Flexibility to utilize renewable energy sources and demand response strategies
- Reliability through a localized power supply
- Efficient energy management and load balancing
- Enhanced operational sustainability and resilience
Ironically, in a more globalized technological world, a turn to local energy communities gives data centers more control and easier energy management.
Innovate With Functional Devices
Renewable energy, AI, hardware advancements, automation, and new grid technology have improved data center energy efficiency, and we expect to see even more creative solutions as data centers grow. Emerging technologies such as quantum computing and biodegradable servers will contribute, while government policies and businesses will continue to guide the adoption and scaling of sustainable energy solutions.
Functional Devices is one of those businesses that construct products with energy efficiency as a top priority. Our unique preassembled and prepacked designs reduce installation time and costs and improve the efficiency of essential components in your data center, like relays, current sensors, transformers, and intelligent field devices. Contact us to learn more about which products might be right for you.
About Functional Devices, Inc.
Leaders in the Industry
The world was a very different place in 1969, when Functional Devices, Inc. was founded by engineer and electronics enthusiast Albert Rittmann, but our commitment to evolution and versatility has allowed us to remain a key player in the building automation and lighting controls industry for over 55 years.
Today, as we embrace emerging technology and lean into the future of building automation, our products are still manufactured in the USA with global materials, and we are still committed to our mission of enhancing lives in buildings and beyond. Back in 1969, Albert could never have predicted the technological advances we live with today, but with the groundwork he laid and the vision of his successors, Functional Devices has adapted and grown into a company that can handle anything.