A recent survey of data centres has found half are now using natural cooling to conserve energy and reduce costs.

Non-profit consortium, The Green Grid, found that a significant number of data centre in the US were already using green cooling systems, while a further quarter were considering doing the same in the future.

The survey was conducted to investigate the use of economisers - cooling devices that use outdoor conditions to minimise the need for refrigeration in data centres. The research found 60 per cent of economiser users utilized the technology for half of the year when cooling was required.

20 per cent of respondents to the survey said savings on energy costs were a perk of economisers, and 7 per cent said economisers helped them maintain their cooling systems.

Reports also indicate natural cooling methods are an increasing trend for data centres, since they can save money while also reducing carbon emissions. Some economisers can save as much as 80 per cent in running costs and reduce carbon emissions by 50 per cent.

Although the report found green cooling devices had little influence on the effectiveness of data centres - with no difference between power usage effectiveness with those who used economisers and those did not - 80 per cent of respondents said they would recommend using economisers.

"The lack of correlation does not seem to affect owners' satisfaction with economisers or the perceived savings in an individual application of economisers," the Green Grid study said.

Written by Louise Boyd
 

Half of US data centres use green cooling mechanisms