Server rooms are energy hogs. The concentration of equipment combined with the need to supplement server room air conditioning with spot coolers means that server rooms are often the leading energy expense in many companies. However, there are ways to reduce those costs and slash your company budget.

Use Energy Efficient Equipment

IT professionals often get so fixated on performance and capacity that they lose track of energy efficiency. Power consumption often varies widely between competing brands that offer the same capabilities. Reduced power consumption means lower electricity bills and it has an added benefit. Less electricity used means less heat generated and less strain on server room air conditioning.

Many server rooms have more equipment than they need. Multiple servers can be virtualized onto a single computer with substantial reduction in energy consumption. Disk drives can be consolidated in a similar fashion by arranging them in a Storage Area Network. Do more with less equipment and your energy costs will drop considerably.

If You Aren't Using It, Turn It Off

Many IT administrators are shocked at the idea of shutting the server down over the weekend. Business servers are left running all the time. Why? Because that's the way we've always done it.

In some cases it is necessary to do so. Processor-intensive jobs may be queued to run over the weekend where they won't interfere with daily workflow. Workers and managers may need to be able to access email or company files from home on the weekends.

However most businesses never use their computer systems outside of normal business hours, so why keep them running? Review work plans and determine if people really do need weekend access or not. If employees need access to email, keep the email server running but shut down other servers. Even if the computers need to stay on, shut off monitors, lights, printers and other equipment.

Recycle The Air

Server room air conditioning is often simply vented outside as waste. While this makes sense in the summer it isn't such a good idea in the winter. Why dump hot air outside when the furnace is running?

During the cold months, vent server room air conditioning into the rest of the office. It will keep the office warm and reduce heating expenses. This may require some modifications to the venting systems to allow internal venting during some months and external during other months, but the cost of the work will be recouped in the lowered heating expenses.

A comprehensive plan of energy efficiency can reduce an organization's utility costs by a huge margin. Cheap energy has made businesses inefficient and reducing costs doesn't have to mean inconveniences or reduction in workflow. Look around the office with a critical eye and you'll find many other ways to save energy and save money.