Environmental Monitoring & Sustainability Flashcards

What does LEED certification measure when applied to data center facilities?

Answer: Overall environmental sustainability including energy, water, materials, and indoor environmental quality

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification evaluates overall building sustainability across energy efficiency, water usage, materials selection, and environmental quality.

What is 'free cooling' in the context of data center sustainability?

Answer: Using outside air or water when ambient conditions allow, reducing reliance on mechanical refrigeration

Free cooling leverages favorable outdoor ambient air or water temperatures to cool the data center without running energy-intensive mechanical refrigeration compressors.

What is a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) and how is it used in data center sustainability programs?

Answer: A tradeable certificate representing 1 MWh of renewable electricity generated, used to claim renewable energy usage

RECs represent proof that 1 MWh of electricity was generated from a renewable source, allowing data centers to claim renewable energy usage even when not directly connected to renewable generation infrastructure.

What primary U.S. regulatory framework governs disposal of electronic waste from data centers?

Answer: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for hazardous materials, combined with state-level e-waste laws

RCRA governs hazardous components (lead, mercury, cadmium) in e-waste at the federal level, while individual states have enacted specific e-waste recycling laws covering IT asset disposal.

How does thermal energy storage (TES) contribute to data center sustainability?

Answer: Stores cooling capacity during off-peak hours to reduce peak demand charges and enable load shifting

TES systems store chilled water or ice during low-cost off-peak periods and discharge stored cooling capacity during peak demand, reducing peak electrical load and utility demand charges.

What does the ERE (Energy Reuse Effectiveness) metric measure in a data center?

Answer: The ratio of total energy minus reused energy to IT equipment energy, crediting exported useful heat

ERE = (total facility energy − reused energy) ÷ IT equipment energy, rewarding data centers that export waste heat or energy to external systems such as district heating networks.

What is the primary focus of ISO 50001 as applied to data center operations?

Answer: Establishing an energy management system framework to continually improve energy performance

ISO 50001 provides a framework for establishing an energy management system (EnMS) with policies, objectives, and continual improvement processes for systematic energy performance gains.