Researchers are investigating a way to run data center servers on direct current instead of alternating current, a change that proponents say could increase energy efficiency by ten to twenty percent.
Researchers from the Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory explain that in most data centers, power enters as an alternating current at 480 volts. Transformers convert this electricity to a 208 volt AC and feed it into servers, which in turn convert it to a direct current at whatever voltage they need.
A more efficient data center could convert from AC to DC at the very beginning (presumably with equipment that’s more efficient than the individual power supplies in servers), skip the conversion from a higher to a lower voltage, and feed 380 volts DC to servers equipped with power supplies that individually reduce the voltage as needed. The researchers have comissioned an example data center to demonstrate the technology.
For more information, see the lab’s press release and its website on the topic.
– Ryan DeBeasi, rdebeasi@networkworld.com
