Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login
Data Center Costs as a Driving Force for Energy Efficiency: Part 1 (datacenterknowledge.com)
2 points by Caveman_Coder on Oct 19, 2017 | hide | past | favorite | 1 comment



> It is estimated that data centers consume between three and five percent of the world's power. Apparently, bigger is better when it comes to data center operations.

This is only going to increase as the world becomes more and more digitally driven. I bet we'll see a lot of consolidation in the upcoming years. There will still be smaller "edge" data centers in key markets, but the strategy of building large 200MW+ data centers is here to stay.

> Another strategy that data center operators are using to become more energy efficient is to look for natural resources to benefit. Google for example is pumping seawater into one of their data centers. At Microsoft, engineers are exploring housing data centers underwater. Technically speaking, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, computer scientists have found that by slashing the common queries or "caches" energy consumption can be greatly reduced.

I wonder if larger energy savings will come from the software side of things or from the traditional mechanical engineering side (more efficient cooling systems/electric power infrastructures). Either way, its definitely an interesting industry to keep an eye on.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: