Data centre
From Wiki for Sustainable IT
A data centre is a facility housing the servers, storage and network equipment that process and store data, together with the power supply, cooling and security systems that keep them running.
Place in the digital footprint
Data centres are the second largest contributor to the footprint of digital technology, behind users' devices and ahead of networks. Public debate frequently reverses this order.
Their impact is not only electrical. Cooling consumes water, construction consumes materials, and the equipment inside is replaced on short cycles, which makes manufacturing a significant share of the total.
Indicators
PUE for energy, water use effectiveness for water, and carbon use effectiveness for emissions. None of them measures whether the computing being done is useful.
