In this paper, The Green Grid™ provides a framework for improving the energy efficiency of both new and existing datacenters. The nature of datacenter energy consumption is reviewed and best practices are suggested that can significantly impact operational efficiencies.

This paper illustrates existing electrical consumption patterns and suggests various strategies for reducing consumption. Energy improvements can be made from both an equipment-planning perspective and an operational-practices perspective for both IT and physical infrastructure (power, cooling, rack, security, fire suppression, and monitoring) devices.