Environmental Energy Technologies Internetdatatalk010508.ppt Electricity used by the Internet: How...

Environmental Energy TechnologiesInternetdatatalk010508.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/internetdatatalk010508.ppt

Presented at the International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, in Denver,

CO

May 8, 2001


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


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.


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).


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.


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.


Mills’ electricity “used by the internet”, corrected by LBNL

TW

h p

er y

ear


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)


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


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


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)


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


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


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


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


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


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.


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.


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


If you really want to get the numbers right http://www.numbersintoknowledge.com

New book, just released!

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