The Green Grid (www.thegreengrid.org) announced on 15th July that the Power Usage Effectiveness metric, which it published in 2007, has now achieved industry alignment specific to recommendations on how to measure PUE in dedicated data centre facilities.
The organization's report, "Recommendations for Measuring and Reporting Overall Data Center Efficiency - Version 1 - Measuring PUE at Dedicated Data Centers," documents the combined recommendation of The Green Grid in collaboration with 7x24 Exchange, ASHRAE, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, U.S. Department of Energy Save Energy Now Program, US Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Program, United States Green Building Council, and Uptime Institute.
"Driving industry alignment of PUE through consistent measurement and reporting processes represents a significant step in improving data center energy efficiency," says Dan Azevedo, Symantec representative and Board member of The Green Grid. "The guidance specific to calculating PUE for data centers that use multiple energy sources (electric, natural gas, water, etc.) is substantial to ensuring PUE is measured and reported equitably. This task force is working to drive clear, consistent recommendations with a single voice"
Keysource says; Keysource were one of the first UK companies to sign up to become a member of the Green Grid in March 2007. Keysource appreciated this metric because of its simplicity; the metric identifies data centre infrastructure efficiency by comparing the total amount of energy consumed by the data centre to the total amount of energy consumed by the IT equipment. Ongoing measurement and fine tuning is the key. There is no question that the correct approach to energy reduction is to start measuring and establishing a ‘baseline and track performance’. The PUE metric is a great starting point and easy to understand, however to truly uncover the potential savings, companies need to establish a robust, ongoing energy reduction programme.