In 2020, Europe is still the leader in data center energy efficiency
Green Grid, a nonprofit industry consortium, first adopted the PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) metric for data centers in 2007, though it is generally agreed that it is not meant to be used as a benchmark as situations may vary greatly. Therefore, the Uptime Institute, having published a chart showing PUE by region, refrained from any direct criticism on this matter.
The following chart shows that, overall, Europe has the most energy efficient data centers, while the Middle East and Africa have the least efficient PUE.
This chart is based on the answers to the question the Uptime Institute asks major data center operators each year: What is the average annual PUE for your largest data center? According to a survey of 450 respondents in 2020, the average PUE for their largest data centers was 1.59. This number has decreased slightly compared to the previous year, but in fact, the trend of no improvement remained in place, which has not changed since 2013.
The chart is based on a portion of all the collected data. This sample refers to those who reported PUEs between 1.0 and 2.19. There are a total of 313 such respondents. The researchers considered the other cases to be partial or extreme deviations. Regional averages range from 1.46 (Europe) to 1.79 (Africa and the Middle East). For Russia and the CIS, this figure is 1.6, but the sample here turned out to be quite small.
The most significant factor affecting PUE is climate. This is evident in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and much of the Asia-Pacific region. In regions where air temperatures are higher than in areas with moderate climates, there may be fewer opportunities to take advantage of free cooling technologies that can significantly reduce energy consumption. This is especially true in areas with high humidity or water scarcity.
Supply problems, a lack of qualified service technicians, or an unstable power grid can also force operators to adopt a less energy efficient approach than would be otherwise desirable, but with lower risk.
The two regions with the lowest PUEs — Europe and the US / Canada — have roughly equal sample sizes, but the average PUE in Europe is markedly lower. This may be because energy prices tend to be higher in Europe and / or that operators and regulators are more careful about environmental and sustainability issues than in the United States. Also, the climate also helps to improve PUE.
London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, where most of the data centers in Europe are located, as well as the Nordic countries and Dublin, have temperate climates. In contrast, in the Asia-Pacific region, which is mostly hot and humid, more than 10% of respondents reported a PUE above 2.19.
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