A review of air conditioning energy performance in data centers

During the last years, many countries are experiencing rapid expansions in the number and size of data centers to keep pace with their internet and cloud computing needs. High energy consumption of the data center has gradually attracted public attention. However, there are no common efficiency standards governing the design or operation of data centers and the associated air conditioning systems. And the statistical research on air conditioning energy performance is still sorely lacking. This paper presents a summary of 100 data centers air conditioning energy performance. Energy efficiency metrics and benchmarks are also provided so that operators can use these information to track the performance of and identify opportunities to reduce energy use of air conditioning systems in their data centers. The collected data from articles and reports show that the average of HVAC system effectiveness index is 1.44. More than half of the data centers' air conditioning systems are inefficient. In total, HVAC systems account for about 38% of facility energy consumption. The range for this usage was 21% for the most efficient system and 61% for the least efficient system. Moreover it would be necessary to review some currently available energy efficiency strategies such as economizer cycles, airflow optimization, energy management, and simulations tools.