Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
INTRODUCTION
of recycling companies. The study took a year.
In this year, six months were spent on literature
research. Afterwards, 18 in-depth interviews took
place and the results of these were processed.
Tebodin (2007) teaches that, in spite of fact that
there was only a minimal increase in floor sur-
face in data centres in the Netherlands over the
period 2002-2006, the consumption of electricity
by these centres increased by 74%. In 2008, this
consumption of electricity was for a country like
the Netherlands 628 GWhour/year. Seventy five
percent of this electricity is consumed by the 70
largest data centres in this country. Furthermore,
Tebodin (2007) states that in many organizations,
between 50% and 70% of the organization's entire
consumption of electricity is used on ICT and its
necessary facilities.
Sustainability of ICT does not just concern
the consumption of energy. It also regards the
sustainability of the used equipment and facilities
as used in data centres.
Both the sustainable use of energy as well as
working with sustainable materials in data centres
are subjects in this chapter. In essence, this chapter
consists of three parts. These parts discuss the
following subjects:
DEFINITIONS
Concepts: The Data Centre
A data centre consists of rooms for performing
various tasks. This means that a data centre may
include rooms for (see figure 1 (Thiadens (2008),
ADC (2006)):
•
setting up storage and processing units
•
operating the ICT facilities
•
producing output on paper
•
carrying out production planning
•
performance of the tactical service pro-
cesses and front office processes
The rooms of the data centres contain ICT hard-
ware, cooling equipment and electrical facilities
such as a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply).
The server rooms are usually cooled and kept at
a predetermined level of atmospheric humidity.
Furthermore, the use of a UPS ensures that elec-
tric power is permanently available. The rooms
where the hardware is located and the consoles
are set up are often fitted with a raised floor and
a lowered ceiling. Under the floor, there is space
for cables and sensors for detecting fire and water.
Fire detectors are also found in the space above
the ceiling. The data centre is exclusively acces-
sible to authorised persons. To this purpose, each
room is provided with a system for access control
and registration.
•
sustainable procurement in a data centre in
conformity with legislation and norms
•
sustainability of the facilities for a data
centre and of the ICT provisions in a data
centre; and finally
•
steering towards a sustainable data centre
by means of information and analysis.
The chapter starts with a brief introduction
about the used concepts and ends with a step-by-
step plan for arriving at a more sustainable data
centre. The chapter is based on a study carried
out amongst those involved in the sustainability
of data centres in the Netherlands. Within the
framework of this study, in depth interviews
took place with legislators, people involved in
granting subsidies, buyers, suppliers of facilities,
data centre operators and sustainability analysts
Sustainability in Data Centres
Since the Brundtland report (1987), sustainability
is defined as managing the earth and its natural
