We focus on operating all facilities efficiently through the use of building management systems, airflow modeling, and carefully balancing cooling delivery with server needs. We work with customers to offer rack blanking panels, advise on cold aisle containment, and properly size airflow floor tiles to get the most utility from the chilled air that we supply to data halls. These decisions are informed by extensive Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling. We also partner with our suppliers to identify new high-efficiency technologies and customize equipment specs to meet our particular needs.

To get the most efficiency gains for our efforts, we first look for ways to retrofit and upgrade equipment at our least efficient facilities. To inform our decisions about where to invest in upgrades, we also consider the carbon intensity of the local grid to achieve the biggest carbon reduction for our investment. We also favor opportunities to achieve both energy efficiency and resilience improvements with the same project.

Energy efficiency reduces our environmental impact and also provides resilience against some types of risk. By reducing our reliance on electricity, we also reduce the strain we place on the grid and the resulting risk of grid power interruptions, as well as reducing our exposure to price volatility associated with fossil fuels. Additionally, having efficient operations allows us to minimize regulatory risk, such as preempting costly adaptation measures with energy-efficient programs in place to meet more stringent regulations in the future.