Sunny Skies, Net-Zero Cloud

By Erin WeaverWhile centralized, off-site information storage may reduce the impact of some activities, “the cloud” is powered by massive data centers: according to Greenpeace, the cloud’s electricity use is larger than that of most nations. In an effort to address that, Hewlett-Packard has published design guidelines for data centers that can be run on direct current (DC) microgrids (see “A Surge of Popularity for Efficient DC Power,”

EBN May 2011) and grid-tied renewable resources for net-zero power use.

The new guidelines, being tested by the company’s research arm, HP Labs, use workload planning to match supply with demand for a total reduction in power use of 30% and an 80% reduction in grid dependence. At a center with a photovoltaic array, this demand management approach allows non-critical workloads to be scheduled during daylight hours, when solar energy is readily available. For more information, see www.hpl.hp.com.