Environmental implications of the IoT

Data centres are a hidden, but very important part of our lives. As the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes more prevalent, more and more of these huge facilities are going to pop up around the world. The idea behind the IoT is to measure and gather as many metrics as possible from the subject, whether that is a person, a factory machine or almost anything else, and send the data to be processed and stored, usually remotely at a data centre. Then control data can be sent back to be actioned if necessary. The stored data can be analyzed for long term data trends and to find anomalies long before they’d be spotted locally. That information can then be used to plan ahead. For example, if a trend shows that a machine is slowly drifting away from the ideal setting, it can be adjusted before it goes outside of acceptable limits. If it shows that a vibration is occurring from a slightly damaged component, maintenance can be planned ahead of time before the damage becomes a problem. The ability to forward plan and the tight control over processes allows manufacturing to become more efficient in both uptime and resources. In the case of our bodies, problems can be found through monitoring of our vital signs, allowing us to see a doctor and be treated. The earlier any anomaly is detected and treated, the better the prognosis for the patient.

That level of control comes at a cost. Data centres are huge facilities that are packed full of high performance computing equipment. The resources they demand can be very extensive. Not just the energy demanded by that vast computing power, but also in water for cooling. Data centres can often be located in water constrained areas. For instance, many are situated in California to be close to the tech giants in Silicon Valley, but California has ongoing severe water shortages. As bigger and bigger hyperscale data centres become more popular, that problem will become much worse. Of course, the owners of data centres are doing all that they can to minimize the resources they use, for the sake of their own bottom line as as much as for the good of the environment. This often means building water recycling plants near to the data centres to reuse as much water as possible. The latest, most efficient electronics are also employed, as less heat means less water required for cooling, as well as using less power overall. However, that power still accounts for almost 2% of the electricity used in the United States and 0.5% of total US greenhouse gas emissions, according to new research.

The three researchers responsible for the paper, Abu Bakar Siddik, Arman Shehabi and Landon Marston, looked in depth at the resource use of data centres, including the availability of resources in the areas they are situated. The trio of researchers used a bottom-up approach to quantify the environmental implications behind data creation and storage. It is a fascinating read. You can find the full report here.