Equinix has recently adopted more aggressive regional PUE design targets for new sites as well as major expansions. These targets are based on an Average Annual PUE at full load (with redundancy) that meets the definition for PUE3. Our current targets range from 1.29-1.40 and represent an average incremental efficiency gain of 8-10%.
PUE helps track power usage trends in an individual facility over time and measures the effects of different design and operational decisions. It’s best used as a facility-specific benchmark, not a numeric basis for comparing different data centers. PUE is affected by site-specific variables, including:
Design, construction and age of the facility - Newer data centers typically have more energy-efficient designs and equipment.
Energy efficiency of IT equipment housed within the facility - Newer servers and machines can often handle greater workloads while drawing less power.
Utilization rate of the data center facility - Densely occupied facilities that house lots of IT equipment will have lower PUEs than facilities still attracting new tenants and ramping up occupancy.
Equinix is committed to lowering our PUE through a mix of capital investments, improved design standards, best practices and operational discipline. By maximizing environmental and ambient conditions where possible (such as by using fresh air cooling), we expect to lower our PUE even more.
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