It may come as a surprise that more than half of data center power actually isn't used by the servers. Seventy percent of electricity in a data center powers equipment other than IT gear, according to American Power Conversion (APC), a vendor of backup products and service in West Kingston, R.I. If you’re considering how a green data center may save you money, check out APC’s estimates of power usage in a typical 1 megawatt data center: Air-cooled chillers: 33 percent Uninterruptible power supplies: 18 percent Computer room air conditioners: 9 percent Power distribution units: 5 percent Humidifiers: 3 percent Switches: 1 percent Lighting: 1 percentJust 30 percent of incoming electricity goes to IT servers. That’s a significant portion, but by no means the majority. The next time someone tries to sell you superefficient “green” servers, listen. But realize that that’s only one factor in building an environmentally sound data center. Also, the way you have your servers—and chillers, air conditioners and humidifiers, too—placed on the floor can waste or save power as well. Installing air conditions at the room’s perimeters, for example, may bring in the right number of cooling units. But using fans to push that cold air close to the racks of blade servers in the center of the room will use extra power and cost extra money. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management case study Toyota transforms IT service desk with gen AI To help promote insourcing and quality control, Toyota Motor North America is leveraging generative AI for HR and IT service desk requests. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 08, 2023 7 mins Employee Experience Generative AI ICT Partners feature CSM certification: Costs, requirements, and all you need to know The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification sets the standard for establishing Scrum theory, developing practical applications and rules, and leading teams and stakeholders through the development process. By Moira Alexander Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Certifications IT Skills Project Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe