Along with other energy intensive server management requirements, data centres must utilise specialised air-filtration and air-conditioning systems to avoid sever dust build up, and server overheating respectively. According to the Data Centre Energy Efficiency Product Profile prepared by pitt&sherry, between the years 2006–2007 data centres were responsible for the consumption of 23 billion kilowatt hours of electricity to meet these server management demands, which amounts to 1.5 per cent of Australia’s total energy consumption during that period.

In an effort to reduce this energy consumption, the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS), managed by the New South Wales Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) is developing an energy efficiency rating tool for data centres, in collaboration with the Federal Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA).

The NABERS Energy for Data Centres Rating Tool will establish a metric for measuring, reporting and comparing the energy efficiency of data centres across Australia, in order to assist centres in implementing energy efficiency measures. Energy efficiency will be measured in terms of greenhouse gas emissions generated by a data centre using a similar methodology to that employed by the existing NABERS energy rating tools for office buildings, shopping centres and hotels.

In order to develop the NABERS Energy for Data Centres Rating Tool, NABERS has invited owners, operators and tenants of Australian data centres to provide information about their energy usage.

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Thus far, as explains Matthew Clark, Manager Built Environment Section at DECCW, 29 data centres have responded to the invitation and provided details about their energy consumption.

Following the data collection stage, extensive statistical data modelling of the data will be undertaken to determine the parameters of the NABERS Energy for Data Centres Rating Tool and to develop the greenhouse gas emission benchmark rating bands that will allow data centres to be benchmarked against each other.

DECCW has established a technical advisory group made up of 27 experts with experience and knowledge of data centre energy efficiency and IT infrastructure. The technical advisory group will provide both technical input and strategic advice to guide the development of the rating tool.

The NABERS Energy for Data Centres Rating Tool is the first of its kind to be developed in the world, and while NABERS rating tools are currently only applicable in Australia, DECCW is working closely with the United States Environmental Protections Agency, and other data centre energy efficiency researchers, in the development of the new rating tool to ensure, where possible, consistency in the development of the IT energy consumption metrics.