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Why Data Centers Should Plan for Climate Change

By December 17, 2019No Comments6 min read
data centers climate change

Global warming is raising the temperature of our planet. According to scientists, the global temperature is going to rise by 3 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit in this century. Even a slight increase of 2 degrees can have a huge impact on our world. The sea level is increasing constantly due to global warming. Climate change is going to affect our entire ecosystems. It is even going to disrupt our planet’s geography.

Most data centers don’t think about climate change. But, climate change is going to have a huge impact on data centers. It is going to change the infrastructure of data centers. If you are operating a data center, then you should consider all these factors. This will give you a competitive advantage in the future. In this article, we are going to discuss why data centers should start planning for climate change.

  1. More Natural Disasters

Most people think that climate change is only increasing global temperatures. But, climate change is also directly attributing to various natural disasters. According to the latest report, the frequency of natural disasters is going to increase by three times in many locations.

Data center operators can already guess the impact of this. More natural disasters mean that you are going to deal with data loss and power disruption. Also, natural disasters can destroy your equipment. It is important to plan for natural disasters. Most organizations already consider this factor. But, the frequency of natural disasters is going to increase in the future. You need to develop a new disaster recovery plan for your data center. It is important to make sure that your data center on backup power. This will ensure that your data center won’t go down due to power disruption. Also, you should regularly check your equipment for maintenance.

  1. Energy Demands

More and more data centers are giving more priority to sustainable energy practices. This will promote sustainability. Most of the organizations are also forcing their vendors for using sustainable energy practices. Consumers are also putting pressure on companies. They want to make sure that big companies are giving priority to sustainable energy practices.

Data centers consume a lot of power. More than 3% of all power is used by data centers. Thus, most consumers want data centers to use sustainable energy. Most of the private data centers don’t have an optimized infrastructure. Thus, they are very inefficient when it comes to cooling and power consumption. They were built without thinking about energy efficiency.

Colocation data centers have an optimized infrastructure. They use various solutions for decreasing their power consumption. Some data centers are even using AI for decreasing their consumption. Most of the major tech companies like Google and Apple are using hyperscale facilities. They are trying to promote green data centers. Every organization should have a plan for dealing with sustainability. Climate change is becoming a big issue with time. Thus, you should do investments in alternative energy options for dealing with it.

  1. Artificial Intelligence

Most of the companies are trying to reduce their power consumption. But, it is difficult to reduce your power consumption manually. Thus, companies are using predictive analytics for decreasing their power consumption. Google has already decreased its power cost by over 40% by using AI. You can also use machine learning and AI for reducing your power consumption.

Green data centers are going to play a big role in the development of AI. You can use the cloud computing power of hyperscale data centers for doing advanced analytics. Edge computing will also help you in gathering data from your IoT devices. Engineers and scientists are already working on carbon capture technology by using AI. This can help them in reversing the carbon emission trends. Thus, AI is going to play a big role in the future.

  1. Better Location Strategies

Climate change is going to disrupt the weather patterns of your area. Thus, you should reconsider your location strategy. Most of the data centers are still using old information. FEMA has recently released a new flood map of Florida in 2019. Most of the companies thought their data backup is safe on the western coast of Florida. But, now they are worried about their data backup. You should think about the effect of climate change before choosing any location. Climate change is going to displace millions of people. It will also affect the weather patterns of the whole world. You should consider all these factors before building your new facility.

  1. Cooling

If you want to improve your energy efficiency, then you should focus on cooling technology. Most of the companies are still using the HVAC cooling system. You can use AI and machine learning for reducing your energy costs. Infrastructure management will also help you in cutting down your cooling costs. Technologies like liquid cooling will also help data centers in increasing their computing power. It won’t even affect the energy usage of green data centers. This will help you in reducing your data center carbon center. Due to climate change, most of the companies are moving their facilities in a cooler region. They can use the outside air for reducing their cooling costs. The global temperature is only going to rise with time. Thus, it is important to build new facilities in colder regions.

Conclusion

Climate change is going to have a huge impact on data centers. It is important to prepare your strategy for dealing with climate change. The global temperature is going to rise with time. Thus, you should switch to green data centers. It is important to reduce the carbon footprint of your data center. You can use machine learning and AI for reducing your energy costs. If you want more tips regarding the data center, then you contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™  services and solutions in how we can help your business.