Anyone have good benchmarking data for data centers on Puget Sound Energy? Working with a 12,000 sq ft facility in Olympia and they're claiming 180 kWh/sq ft annually is normal. That seems incredibly high even for data centers. I'm seeing national benchmarks around 100-150 kWh/sq ft but wondering if PSE territory has different patterns due to climate or rate structures.
PSE benchmarking data for data centers
Vera, data center benchmarking is really tough because it depends so much on server density and cooling efficiency. Here in Georgia Power territory, I've seen everything from 80 kWh/sq ft for modern efficient facilities up to 220 kWh/sq ft for older legacy data centers with poor airflow management. What's the age and PUE rating of your Olympia facility?
Thanks Pamela. This is about a 15-year-old facility with no recent upgrades. They don't have a formal PUE measurement but from what I can see, the cooling system is probably running at 1.8-2.0 PUE which is pretty inefficient by today's standards. The 180 kWh/sq ft might actually be reasonable for an older facility like this, especially if they're running legacy servers.
Vera, that PUE range definitely explains the high energy usage. Modern data centers target 1.2-1.4 PUE, so a 1.8-2.0 PUE facility is using 30-60% more energy just for cooling and infrastructure. Combined with older servers that are less efficient, 180 kWh/sq ft is believable. Duquesne Light territory here in Pittsburgh, but I've audited similar vintage facilities hitting 160-200 kWh/sq ft.