AIT reduces energy costs in University of Birmingham Data Centre

AIT carried out an energy efficiency audit of the data centre, based on the EU code of conduct for data centres best practice guidelines, and made costed recommendations for improvements. “AIT data centre expertise enabled us to quickly identify which solution provided us with a quantifiable return on investment and how best to proceed”, said Steve Burton, Data Centre Manager, University of Birmingham.

The key recommendation was a cold aisle containment solution to separate the cold air supply from the hot return air and efficiently direct the cold air to the front of the server racks. AIT provided a quote with a return on investment calculation of less than 2 years.

AIT installed the cold aisle containment and the effect was instant. “We immediately noticed the reduction in input temperatures within the cold aisle,” continued Steve. “The effect was so dramatic that after a week of monitoring we had the hard results of improved temperature differentials and reduced energy use that convinced us that containment not only worked but created the savings that AIT had promised.”