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Asian data centers get energy efficiency testbed

Summary

APC opens a new facility in Singapore to showcase technology for lowering energy consumption in data centers by up to 30 percent.

Events

Microsoft MSDN/Developer Event
25 Mar 2010

One Marina Boulevard, Microsoft Singapore

IT Architect Regional Conference Singapore 2010
20 - 21 Apr 2010

Singapore Management University, Singapore

The Internet Show 2010
21-22 Apr 2010

Suntec Singapore

SINGAPORE--American Power Conversion (APC) has launched a new facility as a testbed for customers in Asia to design and operate data centers using energy efficient principles and technology.

The Singapore facility is APC's first such initiative outside of the United States to showcase energy efficiency in data centers, Laurent Vernerey, president and CEO of APC, said Thursday at the site's official opening.

Making data centers energy-efficient
According to APC, data centers that employ its technology and energy efficient techniques will be able to achieve up to 30 percent reduction in current energy output.
There are four areas in which data centers can cut down on energy usage:
•  Using components that are energy efficient at all levels of the data center;
•  Positioning cooling mechanism in close proximity with heat source--a technique known as "close coupled cooling";
•  Putting in place capacity management software to monitor applications and maintain uptime; and
•  Containing heat by covering the sides and roof of the immediate server rack area, so that hot air can be quickly cooled without affecting the rest of the data center.

The way data centers are designed, managed and operated is currently in the early stages of change, noted Vernerey, who is also the executive vice president of the critical power and cooling services unit of Schneider Electric, the parent company of APC.

"Data centers today are still being operated blindly--it's like driving without a dashboard," he said.

Having built data centers the traditional way for the last 20 to 30 years, many owners or managers are not savvy to energy-efficient techniques and are "skeptical" toward the realization of lower energy consumption, explained Vernerey.

The new set-up is part of a S$2 million (US$1.4 million) Energy Efficient Solutions Center, where customers can see for themselves the concepts and test out the technology before actual deployment.

The company plans to set up a similar facility in China within the next 12 to 18 months, said Vernerey.

Asia, noted Vernerey, is the fastest-growing region for APC. In 2007, the region grew at over 20 percent, compared to about 12 percent globally. Going forward, he expects Asia to grow about two times as fast as that globally.

APC is not the only player tackling energy efficiency in data centers. Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Sun Microsystems have also announced energy-saving initiatives over the past few months.

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