IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i15p5764-d1208951.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Energy Data Centres: A Holistic Conceptual Framework for Design and Operations

Author

Listed:
  • Teresa Murino

    (Department of Chemical, Materials and Industrial Production Engineering (DICMAPI), Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy)

  • Roberto Monaco

    (Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark)

  • Per Sieverts Nielsen

    (Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark)

  • Xiufeng Liu

    (Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark)

  • Gianluigi Esposito

    (Department of Industrial Engineering (DII), Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy)

  • Carlo Scognamiglio

    (Department of Industrial Engineering (DII), Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy)

Abstract

Data Centres serve as the foundation for digital technologies in the energy sector, enabling advanced analytics, optimization, and automation. However, their rapid growth can exert a substantial influence on the environment due to their energy consumption, water utilization, and production of electronic waste. This research begins with an energy overview of the setup and operations of data centres, highlighting their key components and infrastructure, and emphasizing their crucial role in managing energy resources and driving the energy sector’s digital technologies. Building upon this understanding, a holistic framework is proposed to tackle energy sustainability concerns in data centres, with a focus on energy-related aspects. The framework places emphasis on three primary sustainability metrics, namely energy efficiency, water consumption, and waste management. It underscores the significance of green building design principles and energy-efficient equipment as crucial constituents of sustainable data centre infrastructure. The framework delineates optimal energy operational best practices encompassing virtualization and consolidation, effective cooling tactics, and energy management and monitoring, all aimed at reducing energy consumption and enhancing energy performance. Furthermore, the framework emphasizes the significance of incorporating energy-related sustainability metrics into decision-making procedures and adhering to regulatory standards for energy efficiency. Through adherence to this framework, data centres’ environmental impact can be mitigated and a positive contribution towards a sustainable future can be made, particularly in the realm of energy conservation and optimization.

Suggested Citation

  • Teresa Murino & Roberto Monaco & Per Sieverts Nielsen & Xiufeng Liu & Gianluigi Esposito & Carlo Scognamiglio, 2023. "Sustainable Energy Data Centres: A Holistic Conceptual Framework for Design and Operations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-14, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:15:p:5764-:d:1208951
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/15/5764/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/15/5764/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sijun Xu & Hua Zhang & Zilong Wang, 2023. "Thermal Management and Energy Consumption in Air, Liquid, and Free Cooling Systems for Data Centers: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-25, January.
    2. Chu, Wen-Xiao & Wang, Chi-Chuan, 2019. "A review on airflow management in data centers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C), pages 84-119.
    3. Oluwaloba Oluwole-ojo & Hongwei Zhang & Martin Howarth & Xu Xu, 2023. "Energy Consumption Analysis of a Continuous Flow Ohmic Heater with Advanced Process Controls," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Mohammed Joda Usman & Abdul Samad Ismail & Gaddafi Abdul-Salaam & Hassan Chizari & Omprakash Kaiwartya & Abdulsalam Yau Gital & Muhammed Abdullahi & Ahmed Aliyu & Salihu Idi Dishing, 2019. "Energy-efficient Nature-Inspired techniques in Cloud computing datacenters," Telecommunication Systems: Modelling, Analysis, Design and Management, Springer, vol. 71(2), pages 275-302, June.
    5. Lyu, Wenjing & Liu, Jin, 2021. "Artificial Intelligence and emerging digital technologies in the energy sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    6. Aras Dogan & Sibel Yilmaz & Mustafa Kuzay & Cagatay Yilmaz & Ender Demirel, 2022. "CFD Modeling of Pressure Drop through an OCP Server for Data Center Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-17, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Monaco, Roberto & Bergaentzlé, Claire & Leiva Vilaplana, Jose Angel & Ackom, Emmanuel & Nielsen, Per Sieverts, 2024. "Digitalization of power distribution grids: Barrier analysis, ranking and policy recommendations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Du, Yahui & Zhou, Zhihua & Yang, Xiaochen & Yang, Xueqing & Wang, Cheng & Liu, Junwei & Yuan, Jianjuan, 2023. "Dynamic thermal environment management technologies for data center: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    2. Leehter Yao & Jin-Hao Huang, 2019. "Multi-Objective Optimization of Energy Saving Control for Air Conditioning System in Data Center," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-16, April.
    3. Chwiłkowska-Kubala, Anna & Cyfert, Szymon & Malewska, Kamila & Mierzejewska, Katarzyna & Szumowski, Witold, 2023. "The impact of resources on digital transformation in energy sector companies. The role of readiness for digital transformation," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Xia, Guanghui & Zhuang, Dawei & Ding, Guoliang & Lu, Jingchao, 2020. "A quasi-three-dimensional distributed parameter model of micro-channel separated heat pipe applied for cooling telecommunication cabinets," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    5. Fareri, Silvia & Apreda, Riccardo & Mulas, Valentina & Alonso, Ruben, 2023. "The worker profiler: Assessing the digital skill gaps for enhancing energy efficiency in manufacturing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    6. Nguyen Thanh Viet & Alla G. Kravets, 2022. "The New Method for Analyzing Technology Trends of Smart Energy Asset Performance Management," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-26, September.
    7. Cheng Liu & Hang Yu, 2021. "Evaluation and Optimization of a Two-Phase Liquid-Immersion Cooling System for Data Centers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-21, March.
    8. Zhao, Guanjia & Cui, Zhipeng & Xu, Jing & Liu, Wenhao & Ma, Suxia, 2022. "Hybrid modeling-based digital twin for performance optimization with flexible operation in the direct air-cooling power unit," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PC).
    9. Chițu Florentina & Mecu Andra-Nicoleta & Marin Georgiana-Ionela, 2024. "Exploring the Climate Change-AI Nexus: A Bibliometric and Scientometric Study," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 18(1), pages 1658-1670.
    10. Bhagwan, N. & Evans, M., 2023. "A review of industry 4.0 technologies used in the production of energy in China, Germany, and South Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    11. Tiezhu Sun & Xiaojun Huang & Caihang Liang & Riming Liu & Yongcheng Yan, 2023. "Energy Consumption and Energy Saving Analysis of Air-Conditioning Systems of Data Centers in Typical Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-15, May.
    12. Borkowski, Mateusz & Piłat, Adam Krzysztof, 2022. "Customized data center cooling system operating at significant outdoor temperature fluctuations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PB).
    13. Zihao Lin, 2024. "Can digital transformation curtail carbon emissions? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    14. Anna Kwiotkowska, 2024. "Creating Organizational Resilience through Digital Transformation and Dynamic Capabilities: Findings from fs/QCA Analysis on the Example of Polish CHP Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-18, July.
    15. Henryk Dzwigol & Aleksy Kwilinski & Oleksii Lyulyov & Tetyana Pimonenko, 2024. "Digitalization and Energy in Attaining Sustainable Development: Impact on Energy Consumption, Energy Structure, and Energy Intensity," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-17, March.
    16. Chen, Yan & Zhang, Ruiqian & Lyu, Jiayi & Hou, Yuqi, 2024. "AI and Nuclear: A perfect intersection of danger and potential?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    17. Jing Wang & Yubing Xu, 2022. "How Does Digitalization Affect Haze Pollution? The Mediating Role of Energy Consumption," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-15, September.
    18. Yang, Siying & Liu, Fengshuo, 2024. "Impact of industrial intelligence on green total factor productivity: The indispensability of the environmental system," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    19. S. M. Reza Dibaj & Ali Miri & SeyedAkbar Mostafavi, 2020. "A cloud dynamic online double auction mechanism (DODAM) for sustainable pricing," Telecommunication Systems: Modelling, Analysis, Design and Management, Springer, vol. 75(4), pages 461-480, December.
    20. Huang, Chenchen & Lin, Boqiang, 2023. "Promoting decarbonization in the power sector: How important is digital transformation?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:15:p:5764-:d:1208951. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.