Despite consuming only around three to five percent of a data center's electrical load, lighting can make a greater impact on a data system's power usage effectiveness rating than many other efficiency systems, according to an article in the Data Center Journal.
Switching to energy efficient lighting that integrates with building performance and energy management systems can improve a center's PUE by up to 25 percent, the article says. The potential efficiency savings from lighting are so great that the publication has labeled it the "unsung hero" of data center efficiency.
To achieve such results a data center must use LED bulbs - which enjoy several energy efficiency benefits not evident in other bulbs, such as lifetimes as long as 50,000 hours - linked to an intelligent lighting system, the article says.
A recent installation of such a system at a Facebook data center in Oregon, realized 24 percent energy cost savings and 38 percent increased energy efficiency, the journal says.
In other LED-related news, Air New Zealand has halved the amount of energy required to light key areas of its Auckland engineering base following installation of a new LED lighting product, Ecofluro.
The airline contracted New Zealand company Business Lighting Solutions and international energy management specialists Schneider Electric to replace more than 2,100 fluorescent bulbs at the site with, Ecofluro T8 LED tubes.
Earlier this week, Paul Stiller, director of energy management at Summit Energy Services, a subsidiary of Schneider Electric, described five ways that companies can cut energy use in 2012.
