data center infrastructure efficiency (DCIE)

How to Determine DCIE:

1. Take a measurement of energy use at or near the facility utility's meter. If the data center is in a mixed-use facility or office building, take a measurement only at the meter that is powering the data center. If the data center is not on a separate utility meter, estimate the amount of power being consumed by the non-data center portion of the building and remove it from the equation.

2. Measure the IT equipment load, which should be measured after power conversion, switching, and conditioning is completed. According to The Green Grid, the most likely measurement point would be at the output of the computer room power distribution units (PDUs). This measurement should represent the total power delivered to the server racks in the data center.

PUE, the reciprocal of DCIE, is calculated by dividing total facility power by IT equipment power. According to the Uptime Institute, the typical data center has an average PUE of 2.5. This means that for every 2.5 watts "in" at the utility meter, only one watt is delivered out to the IT load. Uptime estimates most facilities could achieve 1.6 PUE by using the most efficient equipment and best practices.

Read more about data center infrastructure efficiency (DCIE): - The Green Grid offers a downloadable white paper that explains PUE and DCIE further. (PDF)

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