Published on

PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) in Data Centers

Authors
  • avatar
    Name
    hwahyeon
    Twitter

PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) is a metric used to measure the energy efficiency of data centers. It is calculated by dividing the total energy consumption of the data center by the energy consumption of IT equipment.

PUE=Total Power Consumption (Entire Data Center)IT Equipment Power Consumption\text{PUE} = \frac{\text{Total Power Consumption (Entire Data Center)}}{\text{IT Equipment Power Consumption}}

Interpretation:

  • PUE = 1.0: Ideal case, where all energy is used by IT equipment, and there is no extra consumption for cooling or other systems. PUE = 1.0 indicates perfect energy efficiency, though it is rarely achieved in real-world data centers.
  • PUE > 1.0: Indicates energy used by additional systems (cooling, lighting, etc.), with higher values reflecting lower efficiency.

Importance:

  • Energy Efficiency: A lower PUE means better energy efficiency, as it indicates less energy used by non-IT systems.

Example:

  • PUE = 1.2: The data center uses 20% more energy for cooling and other systems compared to IT equipment.
  • PUE = 2.0: The data center uses twice the amount of energy for non-IT systems compared to IT equipment.
Discuss on Twitter • View on GitHub