Data centers are a necessity of the modern 21st Century economy. They keep companies from Google to Procter & Gamble in business.
Starting next year, servers designed to sit at the center of these giant info-warehouses will begin to show some dramatic reductions in energy use.
The result could be big gains in the energy efficiency of data centers. Of course this means replacing computers already in use with new models, something most firms will not do. But overtime as these energy efficient units find their into use spiraling energy costs could for the first time decline.
A Samsung laboratory experiment found that servers expected on the market next year will burn 38 percent less energy than those available today. Part of the reason is the adoption of DDR3 memory chips made with a new generation 40-nanometer manufacturing equipment. The smaller circuitry requires less power. (Samsung is a manufacturer of the chips.)
But the machines also are expected to adopt Energy Star guidelines released by the EPA in May. The guidelines suggest that 30 percent energy savings are possible.
Sylvie Kadivar, an associate director of strategic marketing at Samsung, said Tuesday that a reduction in server energy use is expected. “We obviously believe it will be dramatic,” she said,
The poser savings from a 2GB 40-nanometer DDR3 memory chip could by itself be 73 percent, she said.
How much energy will be saved worldwide from this new generation of server? It is hard to calculate since adoption rates and market growth are hard to predict. But the development does suggest a change in the trend line is possible.
