Modelling and experimental surveys on the energy consumption of a small-scale data center

In the last decade, global IP traffic has increased more than tenfold, and so has the demand for Data Center services, leading to concerns about increasing energy consumption. The huge diffusion and rapid growth of the Data Centers industry not only increases the availability and quality of cloud and data services, but also the demand for electricity and water by the digital services industry. The decarbonization process requires the deployment of non-programmable renewable energy sources in power systems, requiring unprecedented attention to grid flexibility and securityIn this context, Data Centers can provide balancing services by Demand Response strategies, modifying or temporarily reducing their electrical consumptions during specific times. Thereby, this research first presents the energy consumption derived from an experimental survey carried out in an existent Data Center. On this basis, a numerical energy model developed using TRNSYS software has been calibrated and validated. Finally, the possibility for DC to participate in the electricity flexibility market a novel demand response strategy that exploits the fluctuations of indoor air temperature and humidity has been investigated. As a result, the proposed flexibility scenario gives rise to a reduction of the electricity needs of about 30% of the cooling load.