Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
Energy efficiency metric for a data center, the ratio of total energy consumed to energy used by IT equipment.
PUE is the reference metric for the energy efficiency of a data center. It relates the total energy consumed by the facility to the energy actually used by IT equipment. A PUE of 1.0 would represent an ideal center where all energy goes to computing, with no cooling, power or lighting losses. Traditional centers show PUE around 1.5 to 2.0, while optimized hyperscale facilities descend toward 1.1. The metric is used to compare operators, set regulatory targets and assess a site's footprint. For insurance, a low PUE signals intensive cooling, often liquid or immersion, whose failure can cause critical overheating and a major business interruption. PUE captures neither water consumption nor carbon intensity, hence the complementary metrics WUE and CUE.
Hypothetical case: a hyperscaler announcing a fleet-average PUE of 1.1 signals highly optimized cooling, but also greater dependence on systems whose failure has heavy consequences.
Follow the research
One letter a week. First, the week's underwriting note, when one is published: a dated, argued decision, signed by Paul Bernardski. Then what the observatory published on cyber risk, political risk and insurance. No account, no tracking.
No spam, one-click unsubscribe, no data ever sold.