On 8 June 2023, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (“IMDA“) launched the Singapore Standard for “Deployment and operation of data centre IT equipment under tropical climate” (“Standard“). The Standard is one of the world’s first standards for optimising energy efficiency for data centres (“DCs“) in tropical climate countries.
The Standard is a product of a working group comprising domain and technical experts from both industry and academia, as well as government agencies. It provides a set of guidelines to enable the operation of DCs at higher temperature settings while optimising energy efficiency.
DCs are important enablers of the digital economy. On the flip side of the coin, DCs are also intensive users of resources, contributing to our carbon footprint. Cooling systems in a typical DC account for up to 40% of total energy consumption, with many operators choosing to operate their equipment at temperatures of 22°C and below. The cooling of DCs in a warmer tropical climate environment presents additional challenges as more energy is required to operate the cooling systems.
The demand for DCs is continuing to grow, and energy efficiency will be critical for ensuring sustainable growth of the industry. There is also increased awareness that it is possible to operate DCs at higher temperatures while achieving optimal results. However, the industry has suffered from a lack of established industry guidelines on how to safely raise DCs’ operating temperatures in a tropical climate, and at higher humidity levels.
To address the lack of guidelines in this regard, the Standard aims to help DCs develop a roadmap to support the gradual increase in the DC operating temperatures to 26°C and above. This could lead to DCs potentially benefiting from a 2% to 5% cooling energy savings with every 1°C increase in the DC operating temperature.
IMDA’s new Standard forms part of the Digital Connectivity Blueprint, in which sustainability will be a paramount design factor in Singapore’s digital infrastructure. The Standard complements other sustainability-related industry standards and best practices that are key in Singapore’s push for sustainability in the ICT ecosystem. In the longer term, the Government will also chart a roadmap towards net-zero DCs that are powered by renewable energy.
To encourage greater adoption of the standards by the DCs operating in Singapore, IMDA is working with the Building & Construction Authority to update the Green Mark scheme for DCs, which sets the energy efficiency and sustainability benchmarks for the DC industry.
The launch of the Standard comes after the lifting of the moratorium on new DCs, which had been in place in Singapore since 2019, and had initially been imposed in light of the rapid growth of DCs and their corresponding energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission.
Following up from the lifting of the moratorium, in the second half of 2022, the Economic Development Board (“EDB“) and IMDA launched a pilot Data Centre – Call for Application Exercise to facilitate the building of new DC capacity and allow for the calibrated and sustainable growth of DCs in Singapore. The key evaluation requirements of the exercise were as follows:
(a) The use of state-of-the-art technologies and best practices for sustainability;
(b) Strengthening Singapore as a regional and/or international connectivity hub; and
(c) Broader contributions to Singapore’s economic objectives.
IMDA has worked with several DC operators in Singapore to trial this new Standard to reduce energy use. IMDA invites DC operators to use this Standard to help determine the best operating temperature for optimising energy efficiency in tropical climates while safeguarding operational reliability.
Click on the following link for more information:
- IMDA Press Release titled “Introduces Sustainability Standard for Data Centres Operating in Tropical Climates” (available on the IMDA website at www.imda.gov.sg)
