The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Monday that stand-alone data centers and buildings that house large data centers can now earn the Energy Star label. To earn the label, data centers must be in the top 25% of their peers in energy efficiency according to EPA’s energy performance scale.
EPA uses a commonly accepted measure for energy efficiency, the Power Usage Effectiveness metric, to determine whether a data center qualifies for the Energy Star label. Before being awarded the Energy Star, a licensed professional must independently verify the energy performance of these buildings and sign and seal the application document that is sent to EPA for review and approval.
Data centers use a significant amount of energy, accounting for 1.5% of total U.S. electricity consumption at a cost of $4.5 billion annually, an amount that is expected to almost double over the next five years.
Significant energy and cost savings are possible through modest gains in efficiency. The energy consumed by data centers is growing every year. Based on the latest available data, improving the energy efficiency of America’s data centers by just 10% would save more than 6 billion kilowatt-hours each year, enough to power more than 350,000 homes and save more than $450 million annually.
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