Over the past decade, data center operators have pursued ever larger facilities to meet skyrocketing demand for cloud, AI and digital services. A 15-year analysis of Uptime Institute’s Global Data Center Survey shows that while the industry average power usage effectiveness (PUE) has hovered between 1.55 and 1.59 since 2020, capacity-weighted PUE—factoring in the megawatts of IT load—dips to around 1.47. This gap reflects the superior energy efficiency of hyperscale sites, which benefit from modern cooling designs, optimized controls and economies of scale.

Large facilities often deploy advanced cooling architectures—such as direct evaporative or adiabatic systems—that yield PUEs below 1.4. In contrast, smaller or legacy halls typically rely on chilled-water loops and raised-floor air distribution, where incremental HVAC upgrades produce diminishing returns. As a result, adding a new 30 MW hall with state-of-the-art infrastructure can drop the overall PUE of a campus more than retrofitting multiple 2 MW rooms.

In Asia, hyperscale campuses are rising across India’s key metros. Operators in Mumbai and Hyderabad report design PUE targets of 1.35 for new greenfield builds, leveraging high-efficiency chillers, free-cooling economizers and plate-and-frame heat exchangers. These large sites not only accommodate bursts in AI cluster demand but also unlock waste-heat reuse options for district cooling or industrial processes—a synergy increasingly explored by Indian colocation providers.

Regulatory regimes are also propelling efficiency gains. Germany’s 2023 data center energy law mandates an average PUE of 1.5 by 2027 and 1.3 by 2030, with new facilities requiring 1.2 or lower. Comparable requirements are under discussion in the European Union’s upcoming Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency. Although India currently lacks binding PUE regulations, state-level policies in Gujarat and Karnataka incentivize low-PUE designs through faster permitting and reduced electricity tariffs for sites achieving PUEs below 1.4.

Yet PUE alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Effective IT-room utilization, intelligent AI-driven cooling controls and robust maintenance practices can narrow the gap between small and large sites. Many mid-tier Indian operators are therefore adopting variable-speed pumps, airflow management software and modular chiller skids to push their PUEs toward 1.5, even in brownfield retrofits.

Looking ahead, campus-scale deployments approaching 300 MW—equivalent to the combined load of hundreds of regional data centers—will demand new approaches. Whether through immersion cooling for AI racks or micro-data halls embedded within hyperscale campuses, the industry’s next efficiency frontier will marry advanced IT architectures with integrated facility design.

By prioritizing large, modern facilities while continuously optimizing smaller sites, data center owners can drive down average PUE and reduce carbon footprints. In India’s booming market, this dual strategy—expanding hyperscale campuses alongside targeted retrofits—will prove essential for sustainable growth.

Credits:

1. Jacqueline Davis, “Large Data Centers Are Mostly More Efficient, Analysis Confirms,” Uptime Institute, February 2024