Energy saving in public university buildings with data centers

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The academic / research community uses large data centers that consume a lot of energy and increase the energy footprint. In 2030, the ICT sector will account for 40% of total energy consumption and will emit as much carbon dioxide emitted by the entire aviation industry. Data centers on university campuses alone account for 8-10% of the electricity consumption. In Greece and Cyprus, Universities operate data centers, while the Greek Research and Technology Network (GRNET) installed and operates the three largest datacenters in Greece that serve, amongst other, the needs of dozens of hospitals. The energy needs of the Universities of Crete and Cyprus are an important part of their operating costs and despite the measures taken energ consumption remains high. On the other hand, both locations, Crete and Cyprus favors high temperatures for the most part of the year, making it necessary to use heat dissipation systems in data centers. At the same time, long periods of sunshine favor the generation of electricity through photovoltaic devices. For this reason, and given steady increase in demand, the three public bodies propose to move together on energy saving and RES generation interventions, as part of a wider energy saving and environmental awareness strategy for the academic community and the wider public sector. The aim of the project is to study and implement methods for maximizing energy efficiency, intelligent energy management with the appropriate configuration of the loads created by the operation of computing and storage systems of data centers, as well as the study and installation of photovoltaics for the production of part of the necessary electricity. The project proposes the introduction of clean technologies through the installation of RES by supporting the transition to a low carbon economy in the demanding area of ​​ICT - data centers for education and research needs.

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