http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/articles/i/5155/?cid=3

HP's research arm HP Labs has unveiled a design for a net zero-energy data centre that matches energy supply to computing demand to lower power costs by 30%.

Combined with 'holistic' energy demand techniques, HP says the new design can reduce dependence on a larger power grid by more than 80%.

The approach, which is laid out in a paper presented at an IEEE conference this week, uses an innovative management architecture to integrate energy and cooling resources with IT workload planning.

The system uses predictive software to forecast the availability of resources like renewable power and the computing workload and then employs a planning module to schedule workloads accordingly.

HP says data centres designed in this way can be run by stand-alone mini-power grids driven by renewable solar, water or wind installations.

"The HP Net-Zero Energy Data Center not only aims to minimize the environmental impact of computing, but it also has a goal to reduce energy costs associated with global data center operations to extend the reach of IT globally," says HP technologist Cullen Bash.

The company has used its HPP Labs headquarters in Palo Alto, California as a test bed for the new design.

Bash says he hopes the new design will allow organisations of all sizes to take advantage of IT while making it cheaper to run by using less energy.