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Transcript of Environmental Energy Technologies Internetdatatalk010507.ppt Electricity used by the Internet: How...
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Electricity used by the Internet: How an urban legend became conventional wisdom
Jonathan Koomey, Ph.D.Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
[email protected], 510/486-5974, http://enduse.lbl.gov/
For more details on the analysis discussed here, go to
http://N4E.LBL.gov
Download:
http://enduse.lbl.gov/shareddata/internetdatatalk010507.ppt
Presented at the EIA Spring conference, Environmental Issues Council Meeting
May 7, 2001
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Background The Internet Begins with Coal, by Mark
Mills, was published in Forbes in May 1999.
Results were widely cited and have become conventional wisdom
— Internet = 8% of all electricity use— All office equipment = 13% of all electricity use — Total projected to grow to 50% of all electricity
use in 10-20 years
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Mills’ broader claims He says electricity demand growth will
accelerate because of increased numbers and use of computers and office equipment (he equates importance in $ to importance in kWh)
He says alternative sources cannot meet this increased demand, only coal can.
He says that any attempt to constrain demand will kill the information economy.
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
The reality The importance of information technology
to the economy does NOT imply that it must use a lot of electric power.
Actual total for all office equipment is 3% of all electricity use, Internet electricity (using Mills’ own definitions) is only 1%.
Alternative sources are growing quickly and becoming an important industry (e.g., wind).
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Recent developments Mills’ claims are becoming less widely
believed, but many people still cite them, and some people still pay many $ to hear them.
— Many institutions have backed away from using Mills’ numbers.
— I and my colleagues have educated dozens of reporters on this topic.
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Mills’ analysis was flawed
Bad data: 1-2 kW PCs, 500 kW central offices, 250 kW mainframes, 1 kW routers in LANs.
Bad boundary definitions: Just what part of a PC or a server is “associated with the internet”, anyway?
Overlooked systemic effects: information tech. can affect the efficiency of many processes.
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Mills’ electricity “used by the internet”, corrected by LBNL
TW
h p
er y
ear
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Data needs Equipment sales Power use (W) by operating mode Usage (Hours) by operating modes
Equipment stocks (estimate using sales and lifetimes, and/or assess using surveys)
Materials use, reuse, and recycling
Estimate energy use and emissions
Systemic effects (e.g., telecommuting, e-commerce)
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Latest estimate of office equipment electricity use by sector in 1999
Residential 12%Industrial 13%
Network 4%
Commercial 71%
Total = 74 TWh
http://enduse.lbl.gov/Projects/InfoTech.html
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Comparison of Estimates of Energy Use for Commercial Office Equipment in 1999
Printer
Desktop/Portable/Server Computer
Display/Terminal
Mainframe/Minicomputer
Copier/Fax
An
nual
Ene
rgy
Use
(T
Wh)
http://enduse.lbl.gov/Projects/InfoTech.html
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
A key uncertainty: Data centers/server hotels
Some utilities receiving requests for tens to hundreds of MW of power from proposed data centers
Estimates for power use almost certainly too large— One facility maximum = 90 W/sf, actual <40W/sf. — Another facility claimed 65 W/sf, but floor area defined
incorrectly to exclude aisles and other common areas, leading to an overestimate of power use (this definition is critical)
— Still another facility took direct server load and multiplied by three (!) to account for cooling, lighting, and other uses (implies a COP of about 0.5, 3-4 times too low)
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
local distribution lines
to the building, 480 V
HVAC system
lights, office space, etc.
UPS PDU computer racks
backup diesel generators
Electricity Flows in Data Centers
computerequipment
uninterruptible
load
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Defining metrics for data centersPower Loads
(in watts)Footprint
(in square feet)
computerequipment
(e.g., server)
one rack(e.g., rack of servers)
all racks
all core datacenter space
(net floor space)
whole building(gross floor space)
computers
HVAC (in data centerand for whole facility)
lights (in data centerand for whole
facility)
mechanical equipmentexcluding HVAC (e.g.,
UPS, PDU)
single data centerfloor within a multipurpose office building
other (e.g., copiersand faxs in office space)
Utilities
Data center designers, media
total power load
W/ft2
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Upper bound estimate to electricity used by data centers in the U.S
(1) Floor area taken from Juarez, Richard A. 2000. Virtual Bricks II: Virtual Econ 101 Update: A Comprehensive Guide for Understanding eCommerce Infrastructure Evolution and Convergence. Boston, MA: FleetBoston Robertson Stephens Inc. May. There is big uncertainty in the floor area number (could be as much as a factor of two too high).
(2) Power density is an upper bound based on recent discussions with experts. Ignores the possibility that server loads are shifted from existing installations and not new loads.
(3) Electricity use calculated assuming 8760 hours per year operation, flat load curve.
(4) Total U.S. electricity use taken from EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2000.
Contact: [email protected], 510/486-5974.
Units 1999 2000 2005Floor area at end of year Msf 7 20 50Data center total power density W/sf 65 65 65Data center total power GW 0.5 1.3 3.3Data center electricity use TWh 4 11 28
Data centers as % of total use 0.1% 0.3% 0.8%Average annual contribution to demand growth 0.2% 0.09%
Total U.S. electricity use TWh 3288 3360 3647
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Possible systemic effects of information technology (IT)
Commercial floor space— Reduced office space— Reduced warehouse space
Changes in travel patterns
More efficient use of energy and materials
IT + utility deregulation = energy service markets for big service providers
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Something unusual may be going on
Source: Joe Romm, Center for Energy and Climate Solutions
ANNUAL GROWTH RATES
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
4.0%
4.5%
Electricity Energy CO2 GDP
1992-1996 1996-2000
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Conclusions Misinformation seems to spread more quickly
than truth.
Bad data = wrong decisions
Computers and other office equipment are NOT the cause of the California power crisis.
Electricity used by computers and network equipment, including telecommunications and manufacturing energy = 3% of U.S. electricity use U.S., not 13% as Mills implies.
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Conclusions (p.2) No evidence that a Palm VII uses as
much as a refrigerator (Mills has ignored eight data requests from me on this issue).
Electricity used by data centers is relatively small in the aggregate; in certain cities such centers can be important contributors to load.
Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010507.ppt
Conclusions (p.3) Understanding the systemic effects of
information technology is critically important (CECS, CMU, UCB, and others)
Please spread the word!
Credible data are urgently needed. Join our network for energy, environment, efficiency, and the information economy
(N4E) at http://n4e.lbl.gov