Balancing operational resilience with sustainability in data centre design is a complex, often contradictory challenge. While ensuring that data centres remain operational even during failures is critical, these measures can inadvertently increase the environmental footprint. How can the industry move towards more sustainable data centre operations without compromising on resilience? Scott Wilson Regional Sustainability Lead at Black & White Engineering shares his insights.
The Trade-offs Between Resilience and Sustainability in Data Centre Design
Data centres are designed with redundancy to ensure uninterrupted service during plant failures. Redundancy configurations such as N+1, 2N, or even 2N+1 are common, providing backup equipment to maintain operations. However, this overengineering introduces several sustainability concerns:
- Increased Embodied Carbon: More plant equipment means higher embodied carbon, particularly in MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) systems. The additional structural steel and concrete required for oversizing further contribute to this carbon load.
- Impact on Efficiency: Oversized equipment may lead to lower operational efficiencies in the real world.
- Backup Power Reliance: Diesel-powered generators, which are often used for backup power, remain a major contributor to emissions.
- Higher Resource Consumption: The need for increased plant provision and backup systems leads to more resource consumption.
While redundancy is essential for resilience, these factors must be carefully managed to ensure they don’t conflict with sustainability goals.
Location Matters: Reducing Carbon Footprint from the Start
The location of a data centre can play a significant role in its sustainability. Data centres in colder climates, for example, can leverage free cooling, which reduces energy demand for cooling systems. This, in turn, lowers peak demand and reduces the size of required plant and backup systems. A smaller plant means less embodied carbon, as well as reduced redundancy needs and lower UPS and generator capacity.
Innovations in Backup Power and Efficiency
Modern technology offers several ways to improve efficiency and reduce emissions:
- Modular UPS Systems: Load switching UPS systems allow individual modules to be powered off during low-demand periods, improving energy efficiency.
- HVO Generators: Replacing diesel generators with hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) produces 10% of emissions compared to diesel, making it a more sustainable backup power option.
Waste Heat Utilisation: Turning a By-product into an Asset
One often overlooked but highly sustainable option is waste heat utilisation. Data centres naturally generate excess heat, but rather than allowing this to go to waste, it can be harnessed for other purposes. By connecting to district heating networks, data centres can transfer waste heat to nearby communities or industries, reducing the need for additional energy production. For this to be viable, significant investments in infrastructure are needed. Regions with existing networks, such as Denmark’s Fjenvarme Fyn, are leading the way in this regard.
Water Source Cooling
Cooling is one of the largest energy consumers in a data centre. By situating data centres near bodies of water, the demand for cooling can be significantly reduced. Water has a more consistent temperature than air, which helps to stabilise cooling requirements. Additionally, underwater or floating data centres, like Microsoft’s pilot project in the Orkney Islands, have shown promising results in terms of reduced server failure rates and increased energy efficiency.
Liquid and Immersion Cooling Innovations
Two innovative cooling technologies are gaining traction in the industry:
- Liquid Cooling: This system eliminates the need for traditional CRAC/CRAH units, reducing potential failure points. It also cools chips more effectively, lowering the likelihood of failure and reducing downtime.
- Immersion Cooling: This solution immerses servers in a cooling liquid, protecting them from contaminants and maintaining cooling even during power outages. Immersion cooling significantly reduces energy consumption and protects servers from ambient temperature fluctuations.
These cutting-edge cooling methods not only improve resilience by protecting hardware but also help reduce the overall energy consumption of data centres.
Striking the Right Balance
As the data centre industry continues to evolve, the challenge remains clear: how can we design resilient, high-performing facilities while minimising environmental impact? By embracing innovative solutions such as modular UPS, HVO backup power, waste heat utilisation, and advanced cooling technologies, the industry can make meaningful progress towards more sustainable operations. However, finding the right balance between resilience and sustainability will require careful consideration at every stage of the design and operational process.
By implementing these strategies, data centres can not only meet the increasing demand for digital infrastructure but also play a key role in driving a more sustainable digital future.
At Black & White Engineering, we collaborate with developers to implement innovative solutions that balance sustainability in data centre design with resilience. If you’re looking to future-proof your data centre infrastructure, get in touch with us to continue the conversation.