The boom in data center development to support the growth of artificial intelligence has sent power requirements soaring, placing new pressures on both data centers and the energy grid. At the same time, whether due to ESG goals or state or federal regulations, data center operators are feeling greater urgency than ever to more effectively power data centers and increase sustainability.

Thankfully, new approaches are emerging that give facility engineers opportunities to rethink power management infrastructure in data centers to help effectively manage rising energy usage and costs while advancing sustainability objectives. In this article we’ll look at these approaches, and how facility engineers can leverage them to help advance decarbonization objectives for both data centers and the energy grid.

Engaging with the grid

As data centers deploy new computing infrastructure to meet the needs of AI, the industry is awakening to the realization that the current grid may not be equipped to support growing requirements. Existing technologies within the data center, however, can help address challenges with power availability while enhancing sustainability and offsetting rising energy costs.

Data centers currently leverage uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) to deliver backup power and serve as a bridge to generator power during outages. In recent years UPSs have evolved to provide higher power density in a smaller footprint, helping operators save space as they continue to add new infrastructure. Much of this is thanks to the growing adoption of lithium-ion UPS batteries, which provide extended battery life, faster recharge capabilities and a reduced footprint compared to traditional valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries.

Another key advantage of lithium-ion batteries is their inherent energy storage capabilities, coupled with highly precise State-of-Charge (SoC) monitoring. This can help transform the UPS from a mostly dormant (though critical) backup power device into a critical asset for the grid. Combining these capabilities with data analytics and sophisticated controls, engineers can turn the UPS into a distributed energy resource (DER), creating a bi-directional flow of energy to and from the grid. Using this approach and technologies like Eaton’s EnergyAware UPS, data centers can drive new revenue opportunities to offset energy costs while helping integrate more renewable energy and meeting increasing energy demands.

The grid-interactive data center approach will only become more essential as power needs rise and engineers must find unique solutions to designing power systems that can more effectively and efficiently coordinate multiple resources. More utilities are now working with customers to support DER integration and provide incentives for participation in grid services, so engineers should research available opportunities within their own area and consider how these innovations might support their objectives.

Embracing digital transformation

Looking beyond grid-interactive data centers, the digital transformation of the data center itself can help engineers navigate this new, more power-hungry reality. According to “The intersection of digital transformation and the energy transition,” a research report commissioned by Eaton and developed by S&P Global Market Intelligence, a full 40% of data center operators are seeking to leverage digitalization to lower their overall energy costs while more than a third see opportunities to reduce waste such as heat, water or materials. Additionally, when it comes to reporting sustainability metrics, 46% of operators are using or plan to use digital technology to track performance relative to their sustainability goals.

Software tools, such as Eaton’s Brightlayer, are emerging that can help engineers and operators achieve these goals, enabling them to manage and monitor power assets within the data center environment as well as those deployed across distributed networks. Specific tools include:

• Data Center Performance Management software: Monitors assets while providing trends, alerts and reports and managing power, space, connectivity and cooling resources to maximize IT application uptime.
• Electrical Power Monitoring System software: Delivers real-time and historical visibility into a data center’s electrical power system to quickly resolve and identify the root cause of unexpected issues and understand a facility’s use of water, air, gas, electricity and steam to reduce operating costs and meet sustainability goals.
• Distributed IT Performance Management software: Manages and controls network-connected assets such as PDUs and UPSs and proactively identifies and automates actions to prevent IT equipment from going down.

With these solutions, users can leverage asset management, IT and OT device monitoring, power quality metrics and advanced electrical supervision in a single application. Engineers can use their capabilities to improve oversight of critical assets, both on premise and off site, gaining insights into device health, energy consumption, asset lifecycle and a host of other key data points.

A sustainable approach

With AI sparking an uptick in the development of power-hungry data centers, building a robust power management strategy with sustainability at the core is becoming imperative as these facilities strive to meet emerging requirements. Designing power systems that leverage the latest in both digital and physical power management technology can help facility engineers strike a balance between meeting emerging power needs and advancing carbon reduction goals, ultimately paving the way for a new wave of data center innovation.