Power reduction effect of higher room temperature operation in data centers

Electric power consumption has been of great concern to network carriers and service providers from both economical and environmental viewpoints, as it is predicted to increase exponentially for the foreseeable future. Lots of efforts to save energy at information and communications technology (ICT) related equipment, including routers/switches and servers, have been made to address this issue. Such efforts can be complemented with reducing power consumption at air-conditioning (A/C) systems and power supply systems, since they play significant parts in total power consumption in machine rooms. However, it is often the case that A/C systems are operated in a non-optimal condition in terms of power efficiency, partly because thermal conditions vary with many factors, such as types and layouts of ICT equipment. Against this background, improving energy-efficiency in A/C operation is gathering more attention, and many related works have been reported in recent years.