NABERS Energy for data centres rating tools have been released, becoming the latest tools in the National Australian Built Environment Rating System.
Environment Minister, Robyn Parker has announced the release of the new NABERS Energy for data centres rating tools, the latest tools in the National Australian Built Environment Rating System. These new rating tools sit in the NABERS suite of energy efficiency benchmarking products and will provide the data centre industry with the means to benchmark their current energy efficiency and reward industry leaders and innovators. NABERS believes these new tools include a world first for rating the environmental performance of the IT equipment within a data centre, according to Parker.
There are three NABERS rating tools available for data centre owners, operators and tenants:
- IT Equipment: The IT Equipment rating tool is a world first in measuring and benchmarking the energy efficiency of the IT equipment within a data centre.
- Infrastructure: The Infrastructure rating tool uses the internationally recognised power usage effectiveness (PUE) to assess the efficiency of the building services (for example, cooling and lighting). For the first time there will be a rigorous, independently assessed and accredited performance rating available for data centre operators.
- Whole Facility: The Whole Facility rating tool combines the IT Equipment and Infrastructure rating metrics to assess the energy efficiency of the data centre as a whole.
“With data centres responsible for 1.5 percent of Australia’s total annual energy consumption, the need for tools to enable greater energy efficiency in this sector is evident. We have worked closely with the Australian data centre industry and consulted with international counterparts to ensure that the rating tools are best practice for this sector.
“The expert advice and guidance provided by these working groups, plus consultation with industry members through workshops, has been invaluable,” Parker notes.
She adds that the NSW Government is leading by example and will host the government’s IT equipment within Metronode’s two new state-of-the-art energy efficient data centres. “Once operational the new Metronode facilities will be rated under NABERS to benchmark and track performance,” Parker imparts.
