How to control Data Centers' electricity consumption with our Ulys meters
Data centers, those pillars of the world's digital infrastructure, are essential for our day-to-day life online. However, there is considerable energy consumption behind every click and query. According to data provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centers consumed nearly 200 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in 2020, accounting for about 1% of worldwide electricity demand. This energy footprint continues to grow and is expected to increase three to tenfold by 2030 according to various estimates. This trend raises questions concerning the environmental impact of digital infrastructure, encouraging us to rethink our approach to energy management in data centers.
To monitor consumption and thus identify any sources of potential savings, the multi-channel Ulys MCM meter is the ideal solution.
The Ulys MCM offers concentrated innovations: its small size and its easy-to-install accessories make it simple to integrate in your electrical cabinets for retrofitting or new projects.
One unusual feature of data centers is that they are equipped with a very large number of low-power electrical feeders: a perfect match for the Ulys MCM which can measure multiple electrical feeders (up to 18 three-phase feeders or 54 single-phase feeders) with just one meter!
Some data centers are called "co-rental data centers", which means that a single data center may house servers and other equipment from numerous customer companies. In this case, the energy is billed by one actor to another, so the electricity meters used must comply with the European MID directive. This is the case for our two meters: Ulys MD45-M Modbus for monitoring single-phase feeders and the Ulys TD80-M Modbus for metering on three-phase feeders.
These are communicating, interoperable products which are easy to integrate into a metering plan or any other kind of energy supervision.
The challenges and solutions for reducing data centers' energy consumption while maintaining the effectiveness and reliability needed in our interconnected world remain a major issue for the future. Chauvin Arnoux Energy is working actively to provide solutions to such problems!
