Gpue
Encyclopedia
Green Power usage effectiveness (GPUE) is a proposed measurement of both how much sustainable energy a computer data center uses, its carbon footprint per usable Kwh and how efficiently it uses its power; specifically, how much of the power is actually used by the computing equipment (in contrast to cooling and other overhead). It is an addition to the PUE definition and was first proposed by Greenqloud
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The Green Grid has developed the Power Usage Effectiveness metric or PUE to measure a data centers’ effectiveness of getting power to IT equipment. What the PUE tells in simple terms is how much extra energy is needed for each usable KWh for the IT equipment due to the power going into cooling, power distribution loss etc. and it’s a simple formula (in theory):
PUE = Total Facility Power/IT Equipment Power
The PUE can change depending on where measurements are made, when they are made and the timespan the measurements are made in.
Data centers are subtracting factors from their PUE to lower it e.g. district heating. Some of the Issues with PUE are being addressed with the PUEx definition.
GPUE is a way to “weigh” the PUE to better see which data centers are truly green in the sense that they indirectly cause the least amount of CO2 to be emitted by their use of sustainable or unsustainable energy sources.
This new metric GPUE or Green Power Usage Effectiveness is defined as:
GPUE = G x PUEx (for inline comparison of data centers)
or = G @ PUEx (a better display and for co2 emission calculations)
The “G” is the key factor here and it is a simple calculated value:
G = Weighed Sum of energy sources and their lifecycle KG CO2/KWh
G =∑( %EnergySource x ( 1 + weight) )
Adding 1 to the weight is to “weigh”(multiply) with the PUE to get a number that is comparable to PUE. The weights taken directly from the “lifecycle CO2/KWh for electricity generation by power source” table above we got from the 2008 Sovacool Study e.g. the weight for unscrubbed coal is e.g. 1.050 (kg of CO2/KWh) while hydroelectric river generation has a weight of 0.013. An unknown energy source or a “mix” will get the same as the maximum value which for now is the same as coal.
Example:
PUE 1.20, 50/50 Coal/Hydro
G = 0.5*(1+1.050) + 0.5*(1+0.013)
G = 1.531, GPUEx = 1.84 or 1.531@1.20
Kg CO2 per usable KWh = (G-1) x PUEx = 0.64 kg
GreenQloud
The first consumer web hosting services company operating out of Iceland, offering cloud computing services powered by emission-free energy sources.Founded in 2010, the company exclusively sells web services hosted at data centers in Iceland...
.
The Green Grid has developed the Power Usage Effectiveness metric or PUE to measure a data centers’ effectiveness of getting power to IT equipment. What the PUE tells in simple terms is how much extra energy is needed for each usable KWh for the IT equipment due to the power going into cooling, power distribution loss etc. and it’s a simple formula (in theory):
PUE = Total Facility Power/IT Equipment Power
The PUE can change depending on where measurements are made, when they are made and the timespan the measurements are made in.
Data centers are subtracting factors from their PUE to lower it e.g. district heating. Some of the Issues with PUE are being addressed with the PUEx definition.
GPUE is a way to “weigh” the PUE to better see which data centers are truly green in the sense that they indirectly cause the least amount of CO2 to be emitted by their use of sustainable or unsustainable energy sources.
This new metric GPUE or Green Power Usage Effectiveness is defined as:
GPUE = G x PUEx (for inline comparison of data centers)
or = G @ PUEx (a better display and for co2 emission calculations)
The “G” is the key factor here and it is a simple calculated value:
G = Weighed Sum of energy sources and their lifecycle KG CO2/KWh
G =∑( %EnergySource x ( 1 + weight) )
Adding 1 to the weight is to “weigh”(multiply) with the PUE to get a number that is comparable to PUE. The weights taken directly from the “lifecycle CO2/KWh for electricity generation by power source” table above we got from the 2008 Sovacool Study e.g. the weight for unscrubbed coal is e.g. 1.050 (kg of CO2/KWh) while hydroelectric river generation has a weight of 0.013. An unknown energy source or a “mix” will get the same as the maximum value which for now is the same as coal.
Example:
PUE 1.20, 50/50 Coal/Hydro
G = 0.5*(1+1.050) + 0.5*(1+0.013)
G = 1.531, GPUEx = 1.84 or 1.531@1.20
Kg CO2 per usable KWh = (G-1) x PUEx = 0.64 kg
See also
- Power usage effectivenessPower usage effectivenessPower usage effectiveness is a measure of how efficiently a computer data center uses its power; specifically, how much of the power is actually used by the computing equipment ....
- Comparisons of life-cycle greenhouse gas emissionsComparisons of life-cycle greenhouse gas emissionsComparisons of life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions attempt to calculate the emissions of greenhouse gases or solely carbon dioxide over the full life of a power source, from groundbreaking to fuel sources to waste management back to greenfield status....
- Data center infrastructure efficiencyData center infrastructure efficiencyData center infrastructure efficiency , is a performance improvement metric used to calculate the energy efficiency of a data center...
- Performance per wattPerformance per wattIn computing, performance per watt is a measure of the energy efficiency of a particular computer architecture or computer hardware. Literally, it measures the rate of computation that can be delivered by a computer for every watt of power consumed....
- Green computingGreen computingGreen computing or green IT, refers to environmentally sustainable computing or IT. In the article Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices, San Murugesan defines the field of green computing as "the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers,...
- IT energy managementIT energy managementIT energy management is the analysis and management of energy demand within the information technology arena. IT energy demand accounts for approximately 2% of global CO2 emissions, approximately the same level as aviation...