7 IT Energy Reduction Initiatives to Protect Federal Data Centers
Each industry struggles to straddle the tenuous balance between the large array of benefits they experience through the use of modern IT systems and the risks that lie just around the virtual corner, but perhaps no industries are more tied to “black box,” or static thinking on the matter than the federal government sector. While the federal government does allow for changes that include consolidation, converged infrastructure and dense internal architecture, the government needs to look beyond these results-oriented changes to issues that lie beneath the surface that serve to support and cool these user-friendly and highly beneficial programs.
IT Energy Reduction Initiatives Primed to Protect the Federal Data Center’s Systems Upgrades
Between the large price tags on new software and computing initiatives and the energy costs involved with running those programs, government IT managers need to find some creative ways to reduce energy costs to help justify these essential programs and keep them running on budget. If you are an IT manager at the Federal Data Center, you might consider some of the following 7 tacks to adhere to the mandates you face to keep things running smoothly:
- Appraisals and Assessments. Log steps that you and your department have taken to reduce directional cooling and to remove cooling waste in your sector. Create reports that track your team’s progress in reducing energy inefficiencies. Contact experts in the airflow industry to help you assess your department’s progress and gain insights on further progress.
- Track Specific Areas to Assess. If you have any consistent breaches in certain areas of your ventilation system, which redirect precious resources away from cooling critical areas, it is important to monitor these areas to see if there are actual holes that you can correct.
- Make the Best Use of Your Rack Space. If you find empty U spaces, fill them with equipment so that air isn’t wasted on that space. Eliminate hot spots in your system by adding blanking plates over these voids. This hot aisle/cool aisle approach can help keep essential IT equipment cooler more efficiently.
- Redirect Hot Air Away from Your Racks. Avoid wasting energy by reducing hot air circulating in the area by other equipment by adding partial containment with directional baffles.
- Add Sensors to Alert You About Hot Spots. Find alert systems that let you know as soon as your equipment heats up and needs a manual assessment.
- Create a Plan With Your Sector’s Power Payer. Sometimes savings answers lie beyond technology and your attention to your data center’s thermometer. Talk to your sector’s accounts payable representative responsible for power issues to discuss savings strategies. letting them know that you and your team have tightened operations and that you want to find ways to do more to reduce cooling costs.
- Step Outside the Office. Explore initiatives available to the federal sector to discover new and emerging ways to reduce waste and save federal dollars and taxpayers’ money.
Creative IT managers in the Federal Data Center committed to generating savings can find ways to lower costs while enjoying the amazing benefits of emerging technologies.
