Data Center Energy Consumption Trends of 2024

Data centers are the backbone of our increasingly interconnected world. They power everything from streaming services to AI, handling vast amounts of data every second. However, this technological advancement comes at a cost, with energy consumption being a significant concern. In fact, data center energy consumption is forecasted to double by 2026.

As we venture further into 2024, it is important to review some of the key trends around energy consumption in data centers.

AI is Driving Data Center Demand

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not just posed to revolutionize data center operations; it's also fueling a surge in energy consumption since AI GPUs consume four times more energy than more traditional servers.

With the rapid adoption of GenAI technologies and higher-density deployments, data centers are grappling with soaring energy demands. These demands are pushing providers to explore innovative cooling solutions, such as liquid cooling, to keep pace.

Despite these challenges, AI also holds promise for optimizing energy usage within data centers. Major tech players are leveraging AI-driven analytics to monitor and manage energy consumption in real-time, mitigating environmental impacts. However, the net effect remains an overall increase in energy demand.

As data center energy consumption continues to escalate, industry leaders must strike a delicate balance between harnessing AI's potential and ensuring sustainable operations. While AI offers efficiency gains, its proliferation underscores the urgency of developing energy-efficient solutions to mitigate its environmental footprint. In navigating this energy dilemma, strategic planning and innovation will be paramount to shaping the future of data center sustainability.

The Push for Sustainability

Data centers stand at the nexus of technological innovation and environmental stewardship, grappling with the dual challenge of meeting escalating energy demands while minimizing their environmental footprint. As energy-intensive technologies like AI become commonplace, concerns regarding sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) efforts loom large.

The exponential growth in data center demand poses a significant threat to sustainability efforts, amplifying energy consumption and environmental impact. However, environmental stewardship has become increasingly important to consumers, who expect companies to prioritize sustainability initiatives.

In addition, regulations like the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) are gaining steam, requiring data centers to report on their energy consumption and make efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

In response to mounting pressure, data centers are ramping up efforts to increase their energy efficiency. Renewable energy sources and on-site power generation are emerging as key strategies to combat restrictions on enterprise power usage. Companies have made substantial commitments to invest in renewable energy, such as solar, wind, and geothermal, despite the challenges and temporary disruptions associated with grid transitions.

Liquid cooling technologies are poised to play a pivotal role in data center sustainability, offering efficient solutions to prevent server overheating and minimize electricity use. While short-term investments in liquid cooling may be modest, its integration into data center designs is inevitable.

The shift towards renewable energy sources, coupled with energy-efficient practices and sustainable supply chain initiatives, underscores data centers' commitment to environmental responsibility. By reducing reliance on non-renewable resources and minimizing carbon emissions, data centers can not only meet corporate sustainability goals but also contribute to global efforts in combating climate change.

However, despite sustainability being a top priority for most data centers, initiatives aimed at minimizing carbon footprints are showing signs of losing their momentum. According to Uptime Institute’s Sustainability and Climate Change Survey, fewer organizations are setting net-zero emission goals and those with net-zero goals are extending their timelines. Although most organization anticipate regulatory impacts on operations within the next two years, less than half currently gather and report KPIs beyond Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and energy consumption.

Energy Consumption at the Edge

Edge computing represents not just a shift in data management but also a transformation in energy consumption dynamics. By decentralizing storage and compute resources closer to the data source, edge data centers offer not only faster data processing and reduced latency but also potential energy efficiency gains.

The global surge in edge data center adoption, expected to reach $13.5 billion in 2024 from $4 billion in 2017, underscores the growing demand for real-time data processing capabilities. As AI technology evolves and user experience expectations rise, edge computing emerges as a promising solution.

One key advantage of edge computing lies in its ability to minimize energy consumption associated with data transfer. By storing and processing data closer to where it is generated, edge data centers reduce the distance data needs to travel, cutting down on energy usage in data transmission. This proximity to end users or data sources also translates to reduced energy requirements for maintenance and cooling. Edge sites also frequently leverage renewable energy sources for their power needs.

With analysts forecasting sustained growth for edge computing through 2030, businesses have an opportunity to not only optimize data processing but also minimize their environmental footprint by embracing energy-efficient edge computing solutions.

Reducing Data Center Energy Consumption with DCIM Software

Data center professionals are increasingly deploying Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software to help support their energy efficiency initiatives.

DCIM software enables more intelligent energy management decisions without introducing risk. With DCIM, you can:

• Raise temperatures. You can potentially save 4%-5% in energy costs for every 1°F increase in server inlet temperature. With precise temperature monitoring and easy-to-understand cooling charts, you can identify which cabinets are outside of industry- or manufacturer-recommended guidelines and correctly adjust set points reduce the cooling load and improve energy efficiency without compromising equipment reliability or performance. Learn how Vodafone used this approach to drive sustainability.
• Virtualize and consolidate. Consolidating workloads onto virtualized servers can reduce energy costs by up to 50% while improving resource utilization and reducing your hardware footprint. Integrating VMware with DCIM software lets you map your VMs to their physical hosts. With this information, you can move VMs to your most efficient servers to maximize efficiency gains.
• Shut down ghost servers. About 15%-30% of the equipment running in your data center may not be doing any computing. Find your potential ghost servers with a built-in report that lists them based on their power load. Decommissioning them eliminates unnecessary energy consumption and removing them frees up space which can be used for other equipment or to improve airflow.
• Use billback reports. Energy cost reports by data center, customer, or application allow you to accurately charge business units based on actual usage, incentivizing energy conservation and accountability while identifying power hogs and areas where efficiency can be improved.

Bringing It All Together

It is clear that reducing data center energy consumption presents both challenges and opportunities. Embracing strategies such as renewable energy integration, edge computing, and efficient management through DCIM software will be crucial in shaping a sustainable future for data centers.

In navigating this complex landscape, collaboration between industry leaders, policymakers, and technology innovators will be essential to drive meaningful change and ensure a greener digital infrastructure.

See how Sunbird’s leading DCIM software can help you reduce energy consumption in your data center and edge sites. Get your free test drive now!