Equinix has announced plans to reduce its power use by increasing operating temperature ranges within its data centres.
Equinix has outlined a multi-year plan to adjust thermal operations within its data centres to achieve more efficient cooling and decreased carbon impacts. The company said that, over time, this new approach is expected to enable thousands of its customers to reduce the Scope 3 carbon emissions associated with their data centre operations.
“Most data centres operate within restrictive temperature and humidity bands, resulting in environments that are unnecessarily cooler than required,” said Rob Brothers, Program Vice President, Datacentre Services, IDC.
“Equinix will work with enterprises to change the way we think about operating temperatures within data centre environments and how the industry can ensure optimal service levels for mission-critical digital infrastructure, while improving data centre efficiencies. With this initiative, Equinix will play a key role in driving change in the industry and help shape the overall sustainability story we all need to participate in.”
As a part of the new efficiency initiative, Equinix said it expects to operate its facilities closer to 27°C (80°F), aligning its data centre operating limits to the boundaries of the A1A standards from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
“Our cooling systems account for approximately 25% of our total energy usage globally,” said Raouf Abdel, Executive Vice President, Global Operations for Equinix.
“With this new initiative, we can intelligently adjust the thermostat in our data centres in the same way that consumers do in their homes. Once rolled out across our current global data centre footprint, we anticipate energy efficiency improvements of as much as 10% in various locations.”
Jon Lin, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Data Centre Services for Equinix, added, “Data centres are critical to our daily lives, housing the equipment and interconnecting the businesses that fuel our digital lives – from online shopping to sending emails to streaming movies and video call.
“As more than 10,000 businesses globally rely on Equinix’s digital infrastructure, it plays a critical role in their supply chains. This initiative, once deployed, has the potential to significantly benefit these businesses as they seek to reduce the Scope 3 carbon emissions in their supply chain to meet their overall climate targets. It marks an important step in our comprehensive sustainability program and our climate-neutral commitment.”
