Singapore has launched a new standard, SS 715:2025: Energy Efficiency of Data Centre IT Equipment, in an effort to help data centers save energy consumption by deploying energy efficient IT equipment, says Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in a statement recently. This makes Singapore one of the first countries in the world to set data centre standards for IT energy efficiency in the tropics.
In a typical data centre, IT equipment accounts for about 60 per cent of total energy use. With the growing use of Artificial Intelligence, the consumption will increase even more. Hence, by using IT equipment that complies with international energy efficiency baselines whilst adopting best practices in IT energy management, data centers will be able to increase compute workload with the same or less energy take, according to IMDA. Some best practices include workload consolidation and virtualisation, it said.
The authority added that the standard aims to save energy consumption of IT equipment in data centres by at least 30 per cent through selecting and optimising the operation of IT equipment for energy efficiency and at higher temperatures, for example up to 35°C. Furthermore, data centers that adopt Singapore’s Tropical Data Centre standard (SS697:2023) can potentially benefit from a further 2% to 5% energy savings on the cooling systems, with every 1°C increase in the data centre operating temperature.
IMDA also co-funds end-users’ purchase of pre-approved energy-efficient IT equipment through its Energy Efficiency Grant for the DC sector, for successful applicants.
Aileen Chia, Deputy Chief Executive of IMDA said, “Data centres provide a critical foundation for Singapore’s digital economy, enabling innovation and growth. This new IT EE standard builds on the progress made following the launch of the Green Data Centre Roadmap, and the Tropical Data Centre standard to accelerate both facility and IT energy efficiency in data centres. We will continue to work closely with industry to advance sustainable Green Data Centre growth in Singapore.”
“As part of GovTech Singapore’s ongoing commitment to advancing sustainability in ICT across the Singapore Government, we will be incorporating the energy efficiency baselines from SS 715:2025 into the upcoming IT Bulk Tender. This will require suppliers of enterprise-class IT equipment to meet the standard’s energy efficiency requirements. Additionally, we will mandate the use of energy-efficient IT equipment within government data centre hosting environments. These initiatives are part of our broader efforts to reduce the public sector’s carbon footprint and accelerate the adoption of greener, more sustainable digital infrastructure, supporting Singapore’s long-term sustainability goals,” said Richard Tay, Senior Director, Government Productivity Engineering, GovTech Singapore.
Gavin O’Reilly, Senior Director of IBX Operations, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, Equinix, said, “The new Singapore Standard 715:2025 marks a crucial step forward. Along with our own sustainability initiatives, the standard will allow us to collaborate with our customers to improve energy efficiency of their IT equipment and our data centers.”
