We are looking at a Data Centre that is targeting LEED certification in Australia, but struggling to get many energy points due to the high proportion of IT equipment as the total electricity of the building. As per ASHRAE90.1 Appendix G, the IT equipment must be modelled identically between the baseline and proposed model, and as such, the % energy reductions from efficient HVAC systems is quite small given the small amount of energy compared to the IT equipment. The data centre is achieving a PUE of 1.3, with the ASHRAE 90.1 limit being 1.41 for our climate zone, but from our understanding the PUE doesn't directly impact Appendix G modelling.
We are struggling to understand how data centres can demonstrate any menaningful percentage reductions in energy cost savings or emissions, when 80% of the total annual energy consumption is IT equipment loads that are identical in both models. Is there any specific guidance with respect to data centre energy that we have missed from the USGBC that addresses this?
