03-27-12 | Blog Post
Online Tech is the first data center operator in Michigan to earn EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification for its Mid-Michigan data center – meaning we perform within the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency.
What is ENERGY STAR? ENERGY STAR is a federal joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy to promote energy efficient products, services and buildings to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save on energy costs. The program has been adopted internationally as the official standard for energy efficient consumer products and services across Europe and Asia.
ENERGY STAR energy performance ratings can apply to all types of buildings, including hospitals, schools, banks, data centers and many others. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, commercial buildings alone account for 18% of total energy consumption.
Data center facilities, power and energy expenses account for 70-80 percent of total operational costs, though variable by region, according to a Forrester report. Compared to the 30 percent of a typical commercial building’s annual budget, according to BOMA/Kingsley, the energy required to cool, heat and operate a data center is immense.
Online Tech is also featured in the Energy Star online building registry as an officially certified green data center operator. Our Mid-Michigan data center was originally built by EDS as General Motor’s disaster recovery data center – equipped with dual power from diverse routes, a pooled UPS system, multiple Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with diverse fiber feeds into the data center, multiple levels of physical security, including two-factor authentication, and 400 tons of cooling capacity with full N+1 redundancy.
Find more detailed specifications about our Mid-Michigan data center and all of our Michigan data centers.
For more information about ENERGY STAR Certification for Industrial Facilities:
www.energystar.gov/labeledbuildings
