Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE)
Description:Â Water use in litres divided by IT energy consumption in kWh (Annual).
Purpose:Â Defines Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) as a KPI for quantifying the water consumption of a data center during use phase of the data center life cycle.
Calculation formula:
Components
U_w – Water usage by a DC in m³
E_it – IT energy consumption in kWh
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Measurement points:
Incoming building utility power meter – kWh.
Incoming water meter – m³.
Output from specialised BMS or intelligent DCIM software.
Actionable insights
This metric can be used to understand the level of water consumption against power consumed in relation to data centre operations. This results in an opportunity to manage and reduce water consumption, particularly in those areas where fresh potable water is scare or an energy intensive product. This then allows for a potential reduction in the environmental impact of data centre operations.