South Africa’s continued expansion of data centre capacity is a clear testament to the exponential growth in data generated by an increasingly digitised economy. Driven by intelligent systems, data centres are also energy hungry, more so than traditional computer systems. Dean Matteucci, Rectron’s Data Centre category head takes a look at the main mechanisms inside a typical data centre and the power considerations of each for optimal, sustainable energy usage.

According to IoT Analytics, the number of connected IoT devices is to expected grow 13% from 16.6 billion in 2023 (up 15% from 2022) to 18,8 billion by end of 2024.

Data centre power demand (U.S) has been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 21% in recent years. However, the sector only accounted for about 3% of total U.S. power in 2023.

Recently, however, accelerated uptake of AI tools has accelerated data centre demand, data centre power demand is projected to exceed 11% in the next ten years. According to Mordor Intelligence, South Africa’s Data Centre market is expected to grow so rapidly that energy demand will almost double from 434,9MW by the end of 2024 to 828,9MW in in five years’ time (2029).

This represents a CAGR of 13,77% in that time, with recent new builds by players like Teraco, Africa Data Centres, Vantage Data Centres, BCX, Equinix and NTT.

While larger global data centres have been able to secure their energy needs through strategic power purchase agreements (like Google’s recent clean nuclear agreement with Kairos Power), South African data centres are still heavily reliant on the national grid. With new large-scale data centre capacity rapidly expanding for local and regional data needs, the unique power demands these facilities require will need a comprehensive and well-defined energy strategy.

Server/data racks and data modules

The data stored and processed through data centres is some of the most sensitive, containing business critical intellectual property. It also contains people’s most private content, from family videos and photos going back decades, as well as their various financial and lifestyle accounts. The architecture used to house this data needs to be carefully considered for current and future needs, including energy requirements. Whether a data centre is built using a modular design which includes prefabricated units for easy deployment and scaling, or fixed server racks, should be carefully considered against power delivery requirements.

For instance, data modules typically use a 48V DC power distribution system while traditional server racks commonly use 12V DC power distribution. While the former (48V) has greater efficiency and reduced cooling requirements, the latter (12V) is more commonly used and supported by a variety of IT equipment, although less energy efficient.

As organisations are increasingly required to adhere to sustainable energy use practices, these differences will come under greater scrutiny, from an organisational and a national level. As such, data centre managers need to ensure that they have sufficient power.

Air conditioning

Few people have a full appreciation of the complexity of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems used in modern data centres.

Data centre equipment produces enormous amounts of heat and is itself highly sensitive to temperature and humidity fluctuations. It cannot be too cold, or too hot, too humid or too dry. Either extreme can lead to a variety of issues, from material contraction (too cold) to electrostatic discharge (too dry), overheating (too hot), condensation (too humid), and a host of others.

Also, the fact that these facilities are expected to operate 24-seven means there needs to be redundancy, meaning backup HVAC capacity to ensure continuous operation. At the same time, the system must be energy efficient.

Peripheral systems

Although not as power intensive is the main mechanisms above, security, access control and emergency lighting are just as critical to ensuring the efficient running of data centres

Data centres are mission critical facilities, due to the sensitivity of the information stored in these facilities. It is thus vital that that mechanical, electrical, plumbing (for cooling) and fire protection be designed with careful consideration of aspects such as safety, performance, reliability, maintenance and most importantly availability.

As the African technology sector undergoes rapid evolution, driven by sustainability and AI, leading information and communications technology (ICT) distributor Rectron has developed a diverse product range to deliver a comprehensive and sustainable power solutions offering.

Advanced Power Solutions

This is where advanced power solutions, including inverters and UPS systems, come into play. Inverters are essential for converting DC (direct current) power from batteries or solar panels into AC (alternating current) power, which is used by most data centre equipment. They ensure a seamless power supply, even during outages, by providing an uninterrupted power source.

These Advanced Power Solutions offer a unique blend of enhanced reliability, cost efficiency, flexibility, and scalability, for future demands. Investing in advanced power solutions like inverters, solar panels, lithium batteries and UPS is essential for the modern data centre.

With growing needs of modern data centres, data centre managers can the most relevant power delivery systems even for the most complex architectures, alleviating their reliance on the national grid, while powering the fast-growing data centre market.