HOUSTON, Texas — The Planet a Houston-based, privately held hosting company has completed a six-month trial of a range of projects aimed at reducing power and increasing efficiency in its data centers.

The company's results suggest that, even though critical server loads increased by 5 percent, it's overall cooling power needs dropped by 31 percent. When The Planet has finished implementing these changes system-wide, it expects to lower its energy use by 13.5, and will save at least $1 million in 2008 alone.

"With six data centers that house more than 50,000 servers, it's important that we operate at peak performance to meet the demands of our 22,000 customers," said Jeff Lowenberg, The Planet's VP of facilities. "At the same time, our goal is to conserve energy and drive operating efficiencies since power is a premium in every corner of the world. Ultimately, when we operate more efficiently, our customers reap the benefits since we’re able to spend capital on products and services that will enhance the customer experience."

As part of its test program, the Planet used the following improvements:

• Rearranging floor tiles to better manage cold airflow;
• Installing seals and grommets in the ceilings, walls and floors to reduce bypass airflow;
• Installing blanking plates in server cabinets to direct airflow more efficiently; and
• Sealing power distribution units to reduce bypass airflow.

By putting these tactics and others in place, the company was able to improve its efficiency enough to turn off four of its 30-ton CRAC units, reduce output by 50 percent on two units, and keep nine more running at just 25 percent of capacity.