– Ken Rapoport, CEO of Electronic Environments Corp., says:

After nearly three decades in this business, our customers have grown to know Electronic Environments Corporation (EEC) as the experts when it comes to building, maintaining and improving data centers. When we are approached for assistance with accelerating data center energy efficiency throughout a facility, our advice is to start at the base – review and assess the foundation of the data center and the currently deployed assets, focusing on reliability and energy efficiency. When done properly, this will guarantee a data center’s readiness to perform and address customers’ needs.

When building a new data center, large cloud providers offer attractive options with regard to energy efficiency, providing unparalleled Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) levels of 1.02 or 1.01.  This is due to three core capabilities of large providers, including: locating their data centers in geographic regions where the cost of energy is lower; utilizing customized servers that can operate at high temperatures with increased efficiency; and the ability to take greater advantage of scale and uniformity. Unfortunately, these luxuries are not attainable for many businesses, leaving them to rarely achieve PUE levels of 2.0 or lower.

Physical infrastructure is a critical component when considering the enablement of energy-saving technology.  EEC assists customers in significantly reducing PUE levels by conducting infrastructure assessments and deploying advanced technologies such as mechanical systems that generate free cooling.  We are able to advise our clients on how to reduce their energy spending through the latest and most innovative solutions at a low cost.  With simple changes such as intelligent air distribution and management systems, our customers have been known to reduce energy usage by 20 to 40 percent in just two years.

Another option for data center operators looking to increase energy efficiency is retrofitted technologies.  Solutions such as in-row cooling or direct water-cooled racks are a great option for low-density data centers and provide a huge cut in energy usage while easily accommodating future growth of higher density servers.

If you’re interested in learning more about data center strategy and energy efficiency, download our free whitepaper or watch our Google Hangout video.

For more information about EEC, visit www.eecnet.com.