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Growth in computing demand, uncertain energy supply, and environmental concerns are forcing Data Centers to consider energy use as a competitive threat or advantage. Today they are the 6th largest U.S. industrial electric consumer, and are driving demand significantly faster than the national average. Due to this rapid growth, the EPA and ENERGYSTAR have been intimately involved in efforts to ensure a sustainable Data Center future. The EPA has recently submitted a report on Data Center Energy Efficiency to Congress. The intended result of this effort is to raise awareness of the Data Center energy issue, provide an efficiency roadmap, and drive incentive and rebate programs. Conventional thinking suggests that most electricity used in a Data Center is consumed by the computing equipment. The reality however is that computing uses only approximately 50%. Power distribution, UPS, lighting, etc. typically use 10%, and the remaining 40% is used for cooling. The EPA recommendations specifically call out Data Center airflow management as the single most important facilities operational improvement that can be made without new infrastructure investment. Room-Scale Intelligent Cooling (RSIC) is an airflow management technology that significantly improves on what can be achieved by analyzing CFD results and passive best practices techniques alone.
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