A study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggests that datacenters are becoming more energy efficient.
The study was reported upon in the East Bay Times. The story says that from 2000 to 20005 datacenters in the United States increased electrical consumption by 90 percent. From 2005 to 2010, usage increased by 24 percent. From 2010 to 2014, however, the increase has been only 4 percent – despite the continued explosion of use.
The news is bright for the future as well. The report says that use from now until 2020 will grow only at 4 percent and could decline by as much as 45 percent.
The lion’s share of energy use in a datacenter is used to keep equipment cool. Therefore, they usually are built in cool climates. However, this spring ZDNet reported that the Singapore Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) is experimenting with building facilities in hot climates. The ability to do so without exploding cooling costs would offer great advantages.