A data center efficiency metric, known as PUE, that divides total facility energy use by the energy used by IT equipment alone.
Power usage effectiveness was introduced by the industry group The Green Grid in 2007. A PUE of 1.0 would mean every unit of energy goes to computing equipment, with nothing spent on cooling, lighting, or power conversion losses. A PUE of 2.0 means the facility uses as much energy on overheads as on computing. Large modern facilities often report figures much closer to 1.0 than older or smaller server rooms.
For example, if a data center uses 1,200 kilowatt-hours in total while its servers use 1,000, its PUE is 1.2. PUE is useful for tracking facility efficiency over time, but it has limits. It does not show how clean the electricity is, how much water is used, or whether the servers themselves are doing useful work efficiently, so it is usually combined with other metrics.
The total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by a person, product, organization, or activity, usually measured in CO2 equivalent.
Data CenterA facility that houses servers, storage, and networking equipment, along with the power and cooling systems needed to run them.
Green ComputingDesigning, using, and disposing of computers and IT systems in ways that reduce energy use and environmental impact.
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