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Power Efficiency

Power Usage Effectiveness

PUE

Ratio of total facility power to IT equipment power. PUE 1.0 is perfect; the industry average is ~1.5.

Full Definition

Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) is the standard metric for data centre energy efficiency defined by The Green Grid. It is calculated as Total Facility Power ÷ IT Equipment Power. A PUE of 1.0 is perfect (all power consumed by IT loads). Hyperscale cloud providers routinely achieve PUE below 1.2; air-cooled enterprise facilities often range 1.4–1.8. PUE should be measured on an annualised basis to account for seasonal cooling variations.

Also Known As

power usage effectiveness

Source Reference

The Green Grid: PUE — A Comprehensive Examination of the Metric

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