Optimising energy use to decarbonise data centres

A new power distribution unit for data centres could help them make big energy savings

Spotted: The need for data centre capacity doubles around every five years. But at the same time, data centres are responsible for around 1.5 per cent of global electricity consumption, and this is growing rapidly. This is spurring major international efforts to make data centres CO2-neutral as quickly as possible.

Startup Ethernetics is helping to achieve this with its Smart Power Distribution Unit (PDU), which can measure and optimise electricity consumption in every data centre server rack in real time. The system uses an artificial intelligence-driven (AI) algorithm to monitor and correct irregularities and inefficiencies in power consumption. The data collected is also used in predictive maintenance, further lowering consumption.

Ethernetics’ PDU reduces electricity consumption at the servers. This, in turn, generates less heat, so less cooling is required. The company claims that extensive tests showed a decrease of between 5 and 10 per cent in direct data centre equipment electricity consumption.

The company recently announced the successful completion of a €1.5 million funding round, underwritten by a number of private investors. The funds will be used to further develop its energy-saving PDUs and accelerate commercialisation.

As the number of data centres increases, the need for energy savings in the industry is also increasing. However, Springwise has spotted many innovations in the archive aimed at making the industry more sustainable, including a hydrogen-powered data centre and mini-data centres that double as pool heaters.

Written By: Lisa Magloff