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NTT DoCoMo testing green data centre techs in Tokyo facility

Tony Chan | February 27, 2009 | 0 Comments

By CommsDay International

NTT DoCoMo is reportedly trialing technologies that will reduce overall CO2 emission from a new data centre by 50% over its existing facilities.

The company recently unveiled a new facility at its Tachikawa Building in Tokyo that will introduce key technologies and designs aimed at improving the facility’s energy efficiency. DoCoMo will start trials at the new facilities and expects to finalise results by the end of March, according to a report by Nikkei Electronics.

The new facility will feature three new elements – the introduction of DC (direct current) power supplies, energy efficient servers, and a new cooling system design that traps and removes hot air from the servers. The facility is currently equipped with14 racks of servers, four racks of networking gear, two air conditioners and new power supply equipment, the report said.

Once the trials are completed and CO2 data compiled, the facility is expected to serve the operator’s popular i-mode service.

According to the initial report, DoCoMo’s goal is to reduce CO2 emissions produced by the servers by 40%, while lowered overall emissions by 10% and 30% respectively through the introduction of the new power supply units and new cooling system design.

The new power supply, developed by NTT Facilities Inc., offers higher conversion efficiency than existing systems, the company said. According to industry research, typical data centre power supplies today waste up to 35% of the power during conversion and transport.

At the same time, DoCoMo is introducing what it calls “partial air conditioning” and “aisle capping,” to reduce the energy intensity of its cooling system. A new cooling system, also designed by NTT Facilities Inc., includes moving air conditioners closer to the server’s heat source, the introduction of hot and cold aisles in the facility, and the installation of an overhead panel that traps the heat from the hot aisle and removes it before it impacts the rest of the facility.

This article was published in CommsDay International