Coping with the data center power demands

03.04.2006

Total power requirement: 6mw

Cost per kilowatt-hour: $0.06

Annual electricity cost for 24/7 operation: $3.15 million

Annual savings from a 10 percent increase in efficiency: $315,000

In a typical data center, every watt of power consumed by IT equipment requires another watt of power for overhead, including losses in power distribution, cooling and lighting. Depending on efficiency, this "burden factor" typically ranges from 1.8 to 2.5 times more power.