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Energy management

Data Centers Can Enhance Economic Efficiency and Promote Low-Carbon Operations with Integrated Energy Systems

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Researchers from North China Electric Power University have conducted a study on the economic efficiency and environmental characteristics of data center integrated energy systems, exploring the feasibility of various energy supply methods and the implementation of optimized operational strategies. The study concluded that adopting an integrated energy system (IES) to power data centers can significantly reduce operating costs and promote low-carbon and high-efficiency operations. According to the study, the IES configuration that minimizes the data center's annual operating costs can be achieved through the use of optimized operational strategies, such as the Following Thermal Load (FTL) strategy, which can reduce operating costs by up to 20% in winter, 6% in summer, and 7.2% in the transition season.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study found that existing research on data center integrated energy systems primarily focuses on analyzing energy efficiency, economic viability, and environmental characteristics, but lacks detailed comparative analyses of optimized operational strategies.
  • The IES configuration that minimizes the data center's annual operating costs includes a photovoltaic power generation system, gas turbine, waste heat boiler, electric chiller, and absorption chiller.
  • The FTL strategy can reduce operating costs by 20%, 6%, and 7.2% in winter, summer, and the transition season, respectively, with winter days exhibiting the lowest costs.
  • The study's findings provide a reference for the design of energy supply systems for data centers and highlight the importance of optimizing operational strategies to achieve economic efficiency and promote low-carbon operations.
  • The research was conducted by Shijie Liang and his team from North China Electric Power University, with the support of the International Education Institute.
  • The study's results have significant implications for the data center industry, particularly in terms of reducing operating costs and promoting sustainable energy practices.

Statistics:

  • By adopting an integrated energy system, data centers can achieve up to 20% reduction in operating costs in winter, 6% in summer, and 7.2% in the transition season.
  • The study's findings are based on a detailed analysis of the entire data center building, including its heating, cooling, and electrical load characteristics.
  • The IES configuration that minimizes the data center's annual operating costs includes a photovoltaic power generation system, gas turbine, waste heat boiler, electric chiller, and absorption chiller.
  • The research highlighted the importance of optimizing operational strategies to achieve economic efficiency and promote low-carbon operations in data centers.

Sources:

  • Liang, S., et al. (2025). Research on data center load simulation and optimization of integrated energy system. AIP Advances, 15(8), 085003-085003-15. doi: 10.1063/5.0285371
  • NewsRx. (2025, October 21). North China Electric Power University Researcher Yields New Findings on Data Centers (Research on data center load simulation and optimization of integrated energy system). Information Technology Newsweekly, p 553.

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