Case Study: UPS' Green Data Center

Matt Stansberry at SearchDataCenter has an interesting case study of the UPS' data center in Alpharetta, Georgia, providing a detailed look at several areas where the company has been able to improve its energy efficiency. The UPS Alpharetta facility features 50,400 square feet of raised floor, and has achieved the Uptime Institute's Tier 4 rating for availability. But it also has a power use effectiveness (PUE) ratio of 1.9, meaning that for every watt of energy used by the IT equipment, 1.9 watts is required at the utility meter. The industry average PUE is about 2.5, according to Uptime.

The case study shows how UPS was able to reconfigure its power distribution units (PDUs) to require less cooling, and is able to use free cooling for five months out of the year - despite being located in Georgia, a state that may not immediately come to mind as an ideal location to use exterior air to reduce cooling requirements.