U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Advanced Manufacturing Office – Saving Energy in Data Centers

R&D Portfolio

Download Vision and Roadmap: Routing Telecom and Data Centers Toward Energy Efficient Use, May 2009.

Download Information and Communication Technology Portfolio: Improving Energy Efficiency and Productivity in America's Telecommunication Systems and Data Centers, March 2011.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds are supporting 14 R&D projects focused on technologies to improve the energy efficiency of information and communication technology (ICT) systems housed in data centers and telecommunications central offices. A two-page portfolio overview and brochure summarize currently funded projects. These projects address the needs identified in a vision and roadmap developed in collaboration with industry in May 2009. Documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

Project factsheets are organized below in three key technology areas: equipment and software, power supply chain, and cooling. The portfolio contains concept definition studies, research and development projects, and field experiment projects. Research partners described their projects, shared goals, and disseminated results during a Portfolio Review. Access the presentations to learn about the latest portfolio developments.

Equipment and Software

• A Measurement-Management Technology for Improving Energy
• Energy Efficiency of Data Networks through Rate Adaption
• Power Minimization Techniques for Networked Data Centers
• SeaMicro Volume Server Power Reduction

Power Supply Chain

• Adaptive Environmentally Contained Power and Cooling Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure for Data Centers
• Data Center Transformation from "Always On" to "Always Available"
• Dynamic Energy Consumption Management of Routing Telecom and Data Centers through Real-Time Optimal Control
• High-Efficiency, Wideband Three-Phase Rectifiers and Adaptive Rectifier Management for Telecom Central Office and Large Data Center Applications
• Integrated DC-DC Conversion for Energy-Efficient Multicore Microprocessors

Cooling

• Advanced Refrigerant-based Cooling Technologies for Information and Communications Infrastructure (ARCTIC)
• Development of a Very Dense Liquid Cooled Compute Platform
• Economizer-based Data Center Liquid Cooling with Advanced Metal Interfaces
• Federspiel Controls' Data Center Energy Efficient Cooling Control System
• Yahoo! Compute Coop Next Generation Passive Cooling Design for Data Centers