As digital infrastructure expands, data centers have become indispensable. From cloud computing to AI training and e-commerce logistics, these facilities are essential—but they’re also among the most energy-intensive buildings in the U.S. A typical data center can consume 10 to 50 times more electricity per square foot than an office building.
While uptime and reliability are top priorities, energy performance is increasingly in the spotlight—driven by cost pressures, sustainability goals, and operational resilience. The good news is that there are practical, data-informed strategies that help balance performance with efficiency.
Understanding how energy is used is the first step toward reducing it:
A common benchmark for efficiency is Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). Lowering PUE—from, say, 2.0 to 1.5—can lead to meaningful savings, especially in large-scale operations.
Monthly utility bills don’t provide enough detail to guide day-to-day decisions. Granular energy data—especially when broken down by system, time of day, and workload—enables smarter planning and continuous improvement. Examples include:
Platforms that bring together energy, temperature, and server performance data allow both facilities and IT teams to work from a shared view—and make more informed decisions.
Data centers will always be energy-intensive, but with the right tools and insights, they don’t have to be energy-wasteful. Incremental improvements—in visibility, cooling, airflow, and server utilization—can add up to meaningful reductions in cost and carbon impact.
In an increasingly digital world, energy-efficient data centers not only support business continuity—they also reflect responsible, future-focused operations.
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