Kao Data has excelled at the Datacloud Global Awards,\nwinning the \u2018Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility\u2019 category, against\nentries from around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a major achievement for Kao Data and demonstrates\nits commitment to principles of responsible business capability, customer\nservice and, crucially, its environmental sustainability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judges highlighted the selection of location and\nregional climate considerations in the development of the UK\u2019s first 100%\nfree-cooling data centre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We spoke to Gerard Thibault,\nCTO, Kao Data, to find out more about the company\u2019s work, while three industry\nexperts tackle this month\u2019s burning question. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Achieving \u2018Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility\u2019 at\nDatacloud 2019 underlines a long-standing commitment and demonstrates the\neffectiveness of Kao Data\u2019s business processes and responsibility to improve\noperational performance, provide increased assurance and reduce the\nenvironmental impact of the data centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the outset, the team at Kao Data considered\nsustainability, ecological impact and energy efficiency as demonstrated by the\nachievement of BREEAM \u2018Excellent\u2019 award for DC1, part of the four-building,\n35MW IT power capacity campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Both design and construction phases of the project reviewed\nby the BRE with their \u2018Energy Assessment Method\u2019, confirmed the benefits of the\n1.2 ultra-low PUE achieved by the Technology Suite \u2018free cooling\u2019 system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Utilising a system with no\nmechanical refrigeration eliminates any global warming potential (GWP) gases,\nyears before the F-gas regulations bans their use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Highly efficiently engineered, the complexity of both\nmechanical and electrical infrastructure is reduced, along with the power\ncapacity of the electrical distribution and back-up power generation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This drives a reduction in material usage and potential\npollution in emergency power failure scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coupled with the climate in the geographical location, Kao\nData can meet the requirements of ASHRAE TC 9.9 \u2018recommended\u2019 environmental\nconditions throughout the year even at the extremes and into the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Operating at the \u2018allowable\u2019 envelope brings further\nreductions in energy consumption and even without the benefit of having secured\na 100% renewable energy power contract with EDF (operating with carbon\nneutrality), the overall carbon footprint of the data centre is reduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a strategic business opportunity, the design reflects the\n\u2019best practices\u2019 that Open Compute Project endorses, which allowed Kao Data to\nbe the first UK OCP-Ready facility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Operating at the ASHRAE \u2018allowable\u2019 range is an \u2018optimum\u2019\nrequirement of the self-assessment protocol, in which Kao Data DC1 scored 75%\nat \u2018optimal\u2019 or above, by including gaseous contaminant monitoring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Adoption of OCP principles produces\na hyperscale inspired design, harnessing the largest growth sector of the data\ncentre market, a Kao Data target customer group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kao Data London One has a commitment to creating a more sustainability aware industry, which results in a highly scalable, ultra-efficient, regulation complaint and customer focused site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We hear from a number of experts who offer their opinions on the subject.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr Stu Redshaw, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, EkkoSense<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2019 has seen a renewed focus on\nclimate issues, with Extinction Rebellion protests in London successfully\ndisrupting the capital and Theresa May committing the UK to becoming the first\nG7 nation to make zero net emissions a legislated goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Climate is now dominating the social, political and corporate agenda, and demanding long-term commitments are being made. Government figures suggest that total UK decarbonisation will require an investment equivalent to 1-2% of GDP through 2050 and some estimate the total cost for the UK to exceed a trillion pounds overall. According to global data centre authority the Uptime Institute, average Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) numbers have actually increased recently, with a rise from 1.58 in 2018 to 1.67 over the last 12 months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many data centre operators have simply hidden behind their critical facilities status to avoid serious scrutiny of their energy usage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although it\u2019s understandable that DC teams should prioritise risk avoidance for their critical services, the standard practice of simply adding more and more expensive cooling hardware to handle escalating capacity demands is storing up a serious carbon issue for organisations trying to move to net zero. The good news though is that for the vast majority of operational DCs, straight-forward options are available to address the issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, with the latest release of our cloud-based 3D data centre monitoring, management and optimisation software, we have added a unique integrated Cooling Adviser capability that offers clear recommendations of actions that operations teams can immediately take to adapt their data centre\u2019s operational performance and minimise environmental impact. Michael Akinla, Business Manager Central Europe North, Panduit EMEA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In an environment where consumption of all\nthings appears to be heading skywards, data use, bandwidth and storage\nrequirements are right on trend. With levels of data creation and use now\nsurpassing zettabytes volumes per year, the data centre technology suites that\nfacilitate this compute power need to be carefully controlled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the standpoint of an infrastructure\nsupplier, today\u2019s discussions with data centre\noperators and corporate end-users, with owned data centre capability, are\nframed around increased bandwidth, reduced latency and energy concerns including\nlower power usage and effective climate control to optimise the compute environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Data centre operators are adapting to a mostly\nwestern world view – that data centres consume massive amounts of energy and\nneed to be accountable and seen to be operating in a responsible manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the mass of experience now\navailable in the industry, data centres can be designed to take advantage of\nthe specific region\u2019s climate, so for example, in northern Europe,\ndata centres can operate \u2018free-cooling\u2019 of the IT load, which massively reduces\nthe total energy used in the facility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is also a trend, driven by hyperscale\ndesign, towards solid floor technology suites which again reduce overall\ncomplexity and allows cooled air to be channelled across the space into Hot\nAisle Containment (HAC) pods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These cabinets are designed to effectively\ndraw cool air through the racks across the hot equipment and then expel the hot\nexhaust air into the ceiling void to be recirculated and cooled once\nagain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These HAC cabinets ensure hot and cool air\nremain separated and do not mix and contaminate the input flow, which could\nraise the operating temperature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Using refrigerated cooling systems to maintain\nthe IT load will certainly require higher energy use and therefore increase\ncapital cost and operational cost. Often refrigerated\ncooling systems require more energy to operate than the technology space\ncompute equipment it is serving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This approach aligns with ASHRAE TC9.9\nrecommendations which specify higher equipment operating temperatures, while\nremaining within the manufacturers\u2019 warranty specifications and also reducing\nenergy use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Advances in computation flow dynamics (CFD) in\nthe design of technology suites greatly assists layout and management.\nDevelopments in server, storage, switch and infrastructure technology,\nincluding cabling and racks, together with intelligent monitoring systems and\nmillions of hours of facility analysis allows energy efficient systems to\ndramatically reduce operational expenditure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n New technologies benefit the operator and user with cheaper energy costs and higher performance solutions. This also offers the operator and customers the cachet of sustainability, low PUE and increased eco-friendliness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Marc Garner, Vice President, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric UK and Ireland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When seeking to become more\neco-friendly, there are a number of key areas that today\u2019s data centre owners\nand operators must consider. These include\nthe design of the facility, its power source, choice of UPS and cooling\nsolution, and use of management software, which is an essential piece of the\npuzzle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cloud-based\nDCIM software <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Data centre management software allows\nfor better visibility into power, cooling and IT loads, while enabling greater\nlevels of automation to take place within today\u2019s facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it\u2019s important to highlight\nthat without a software or monitoring solution in place, it\u2019s near impossible\nfor businesses to find out what strain the current IT load is putting on the\nexisting infrastructure, or indeed what their energy usage might be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If an organisation already utilises a\ncloud-based data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) solution \u2013 like\nSchneider Electric\u2019s EcoStruxure IT, which offers greater levels of visibility\nand insight than older legacy platforms \u2013 the user can make real-time,\ndata-driven decisions that could significantly lower cost. In many cases using\nArtificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to predict and\nanticipate changes within the facility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Data\ncentre design<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Another consideration is that of the\nIT requirement and data centre design. Does the capacity utilisation meet the\ndemands currently placed upon it by the business and should more be needed, is\nthere room to scale both cost-effectively and efficiently? <\/p>\n\n\n\n If the answer is no and the\norganisation needs to add capacity quickly, prefabricated power, cooling and IT\nmodules present an option for predictable, efficient and rapid deployment;\nallowing the user to specify exactly what\u2019s required, rather than over\nprovisioning the data centre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cooling\nconfiguration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Other than the IT load, the\ncooling solution will often account for a high proportion of energy use. Therefore, should an option for free cooling be available, a\ncompany may choose to utilise this to become more eco-friendly. If a different\napproach is required, they might consider hot-aisle containment, InRow or\nliquid cooling based on the greatest opportunity for a lower PUE and better ROI\nin terms of reduced energy costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Power\nand UPS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When choosing the power\nrequirement, another consideration may be the desired CSR or sustainability\nobjectives. A good example may be the company\u2019s\nchoice to utilise only renewable energy sources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to power, a UPS is of\ncourse an absolute necessity and should a company be looking to take advantage\nof the latest technological advancements, they may opt for Lithium-ion (Li-Ion)\nbatteries over valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) cells. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Research from Schneider Electric\u2019s\nData Centre Science Centre found that over a 10-year period, Li-ion delivered a\nlower TCO that was between 10% and 40% less than an equivalent UPS system based\non VRLA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From a sustainability perspective,\nLi-ion batteries do not contain hazardous chemical materials and are\nincreasingly easier to recycle, as waste-management operators become more\nfamiliar with the specific procedures needed to handle large format systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kao Data has excelled at the Datacloud Global Awards, winning the \u2018Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility\u2019 category, against entries from around the world. This is a major achievement for Kao Data and demonstrates its commitment to principles of responsible business capability, customer service and, crucially, its environmental sustainability. The judges highlighted the selection of location […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":32999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,573,36,93],"tags":[12463,13178],"class_list":["post-32992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data-centres","category-features","category-green","category-top-stories","tag-kao-data","tag-kao-data-london-one"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33000,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32992\/revisions\/33000"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Clearly someone\u2019s going to have to foot this bill and there\u2019s every likelihood that the green taxes spotlight will fall increasingly on the highest energy consumers. And, given the amount of energy used by today\u2019s data centres, it\u2019s hard to imagine that our industry will escape an increased focus on its power usage and management.
The combination of 2018\u2019s exceptionally hot summer, uncertain data centre capacity levels due to the continued shift towards public cloud services and the move towards less efficient Edge centres has made efficient operation much harder to achieve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, data centres aren\u2019t doing enough to optimise energy performance. The reality for data centre operators is that they now need to move beyond incremental improvements to achieve this goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These recommendations alone can unlock data centre cooling carbon reductions of at least 10% without the requirement for radical redesigns or expensive cooling refresh programmes. It\u2019s this kind of accessible, practical \u2018expertise as a service\u2019 that can make a real difference for data centre operators \u2013 giving them a head start on energy reduction before the carbon reduction team starts knocking on the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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