IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v327y2025ics0360544225020420.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Integrated management of workloads and energy system for data centers

Author

Listed:
  • Guo, Haijin
  • Yu, Hang
  • Wang, Meng
  • Liu, Cheng
  • Li, Chaoen

Abstract

Workload transfer is a critical and unique strategy for enhancing energy flexibility in data centers. However, existing research has largely focused on the operational cost benefits associated with workload transfer, neglecting its impact on the workloads themselves. To fully investigate the potential of workload transfer for sustainable and positive development in data centers, this study firstly clarifies the interaction between workload and energy. Based on this, an integrated management framework is proposed to simultaneously optimize workload transfer and energy dispatch. A transfer model that considers workload heterogeneity is developed to capture the characteristics of workload transfer and is integrated with the energy system model, enabling cross-sectoral collaboration between Information Technology (IT) and energy sectors. A case study in Shanghai reveals a clear trade-off exists between workload transfer and energy dispatch. The results show that while transferring workloads can reduce operational costs by 7.63 % in summer and 2.81 % in winter, it concurrently increases the average delay rate of workloads by 0.2434 in summer and 0.2028 in winter. The impact of workload transfer on energy systems is not always positive and a sole focus on cost reduction could result in an elevation of the average delay rate. Additionally, the driving forces behind workload transfer include variations in electricity prices, excess renewable energy and optimal operation of the energy system. The structure of workload also significantly affects the workload transfer. Overall, this study integrates modules from both the IT and energy sectors to achieve holistic management of data centers. The results of the case study provide novel and valuable insights for optimizing the operation of data centers during workload transfer processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Guo, Haijin & Yu, Hang & Wang, Meng & Liu, Cheng & Li, Chaoen, 2025. "Integrated management of workloads and energy system for data centers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:327:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225020420
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.136400
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225020420
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.136400?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhu, Yiqun & Zhang, Quan & Zeng, Liping & Wang, Jiaqiang & Zou, Sikai, 2024. "An advanced control strategy of hybrid cooling system with cold water storage system in data center," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    2. Kandasamy, Ranjith & Ho, Jin Yao & Liu, Pengfei & Wong, Teck Neng & Toh, Kok Chuan & Chua, Sunshine Jr, 2022. "Two-phase spray cooling for high ambient temperature data centers: Evaluation of system performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    3. Jing, Rui & Wang, Meng & Liang, Hao & Wang, Xiaonan & Li, Ning & Shah, Nilay & Zhao, Yingru, 2018. "Multi-objective optimization of a neighborhood-level urban energy network: Considering Game-theory inspired multi-benefit allocation constraints," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 534-548.
    4. Chen, Sirui & Li, Peng & Ji, Haoran & Yu, Hao & Yan, Jinyue & Wu, Jianzhong & Wang, Chengshan, 2021. "Operational flexibility of active distribution networks with the potential from data centers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    5. Wang, Jiangjiang & Lu, Yanchao & Yang, Ying & Mao, Tianzhi, 2016. "Thermodynamic performance analysis and optimization of a solar-assisted combined cooling, heating and power system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(P1), pages 49-59.
    6. Oró, Eduard & Depoorter, Victor & Garcia, Albert & Salom, Jaume, 2015. "Energy efficiency and renewable energy integration in data centres. Strategies and modelling review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 429-445.
    7. Han, Ouzhu & Ding, Tao & Yang, Miao & Jia, Wenhao & He, Xinran & Ma, Zhoujun, 2024. "A novel 4-level joint optimal dispatch for demand response of data centers with district autonomy realization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    8. Bischi, Aldo & Taccari, Leonardo & Martelli, Emanuele & Amaldi, Edoardo & Manzolini, Giampaolo & Silva, Paolo & Campanari, Stefano & Macchi, Ennio, 2014. "A detailed MILP optimization model for combined cooling, heat and power system operation planning," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 12-26.
    9. Chen, Min & Gao, Ciwei & Song, Meng & Chen, Songsong & Li, Dezhi & Liu, Qiang, 2020. "Internet data centers participating in demand response: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    10. Liu, Wenyu & Yan, Yuejun & Sun, Yimeng & Mao, Hongju & Cheng, Ming & Wang, Peng & Ding, Zhaohao, 2023. "Online job scheduling scheme for low-carbon data center operation: An information and energy nexus perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    11. Xiao, Jiang-Wen & Yang, Yan-Bing & Cui, Shichang & Wang, Yan-Wu, 2023. "Cooperative online schedule of interconnected data center microgrids with shared energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    12. Gupta, Rohit & Moazamigoodarzi, Hosein & MirhoseiniNejad, SeyedMorteza & Down, Douglas G. & Puri, Ishwar K., 2020. "Workload management for air-cooled data centers: An energy and exergy based approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    13. Zhu, Xingyi & Zhan, Xiangyan & Liang, Hao & Zheng, Xuyue & Qiu, Yuwei & Lin, Jian & Chen, Jincan & Meng, Chao & Zhao, Yingru, 2020. "The optimal design and operation strategy of renewable energy-CCHP coupled system applied in five building objects," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 2700-2715.
    14. Cheung, Howard & Wang, Shengwei, 2019. "Optimal design of data center cooling systems concerning multi-chiller system configuration and component selection for energy-efficient operation and maximized free-cooling," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 1717-1731.
    15. Huang, Pei & Copertaro, Benedetta & Zhang, Xingxing & Shen, Jingchun & Löfgren, Isabelle & Rönnelid, Mats & Fahlen, Jan & Andersson, Dan & Svanfeldt, Mikael, 2020. "A review of data centers as prosumers in district energy systems: Renewable energy integration and waste heat reuse for district heating," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    16. Jerez Monsalves, Juan & Bergaentzlé, Claire & Keles, Dogan, 2023. "Impacts of flexible-cooling and waste-heat recovery from data centres on energy systems: A Danish case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    17. Li, Chao & Mao, Ruiyong & Wang, Yong & Zhang, Jun & Lan, Jiang & Zhang, Zujing, 2024. "Experimental study on direct evaporative cooling for free cooling of data centers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    18. Jing, Rui & Wang, Meng & Zhang, Zhihui & Wang, Xiaonan & Li, Ning & Shah, Nilay & Zhao, Yingru, 2019. "Distributed or centralized? Designing district-level urban energy systems by a hierarchical approach considering demand uncertainties," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    19. Cao, Yujie & Cao, Fang & Wang, Yajing & Wang, Jianxiao & Wu, Lei & Ding, Zhaohao, 2024. "Managing data center cluster as non-wire alternative: A case in balancing market," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 360(C).
    20. Gupta, Rohit & Asgari, Sahar & Moazamigoodarzi, Hosein & Down, Douglas G. & Puri, Ishwar K., 2021. "Energy, exergy and computing efficiency based data center workload and cooling management," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    21. M. Hasan Jamal & M. Tayyab Chaudhry & Usama Tahir & Furqan Rustam & Soojung Hur & Imran Ashraf, 2022. "Hotspot-Aware Workload Scheduling and Server Placement for Heterogeneous Cloud Data Centers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-20, March.
    22. Guo, Caishan & Luo, Fengji & Cai, Zexiang & Dong, Zhao Yang & Zhang, Rui, 2021. "Integrated planning of internet data centers and battery energy storage systems in smart grids," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    23. Yang, Ting & Zhao, Yingjie & Pen, Haibo & Wang, Zhaoxia, 2018. "Data center holistic demand response algorithm to smooth microgrid tie-line power fluctuation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 277-287.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xue, Lin & Wang, Jianxue & Li, Haotian & Yong, Weizhen & Zhang, Yao, 2025. "Online energy conservation scheduling for geo-distributed data centers with hybrid data-driven and knowledge-driven approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    2. Han, Ouzhu & Ding, Tao & Yang, Miao & Jia, Wenhao & He, Xinran & Ma, Zhoujun, 2024. "A novel 4-level joint optimal dispatch for demand response of data centers with district autonomy realization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    3. Ji, Haoran & Chen, Sirui & Yu, Hao & Li, Peng & Yan, Jinyue & Song, Jieying & Wang, Chengshan, 2022. "Robust operation for minimizing power consumption of data centers with flexible substation integration," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    4. Ye, Guisen & Gao, Feng & Fang, Jingyang, 2022. "A mission-driven two-step virtual machine commitment for energy saving of modern data centers through UPS and server coordinated optimizations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    5. Chen, Sirui & Li, Peng & Ji, Haoran & Yu, Hao & Yan, Jinyue & Wu, Jianzhong & Wang, Chengshan, 2021. "Operational flexibility of active distribution networks with the potential from data centers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    6. Fan, Junqiu & Yan, Rujing & He, Yu & Zhang, Jing & Zhao, Weixing & Liu, Mingshun & An, Su & Ma, Qingfeng, 2025. "Stochastic optimization of combined energy and computation task scheduling strategies of hybrid system with multi-energy storage system and data center," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    7. Kong, Rui & Zhang, Hainan & Tang, Mingsheng & Zou, Huiming & Tian, Changqing & Ding, Tao, 2024. "Enhancing data center cooling efficiency and ability: A comprehensive review of direct liquid cooling technologies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    8. Zhu, Yiqun & Zhang, Quan & Huang, Gongsheng & Wang, Jiaqiang & Zou, Sikai & Ee, Yit Jing & Sopian, Kamaruzzaman, 2025. "Research on collaborative control strategy of cold storage and IT workload migration in data center," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    9. Wang, Wei & Jing, Rui & Zhao, Yingru & Zhang, Chuan & Wang, Xiaonan, 2020. "A load-complementarity combined flexible clustering approach for large-scale urban energy-water nexus optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    10. Wang, Meng & Yu, Hang & Lin, Xiaoyu & Jing, Rui & He, Fangjun & Li, Chaoen, 2020. "Comparing stochastic programming with posteriori approach for multi-objective optimization of distributed energy systems under uncertainty," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    11. Sun, Jingjun & Yan, Yuejun & Wang, Zhaoyang & Ma, Jiahao & Wang, Yi, 2025. "Privacy-preserving coordinated operation of cross-enterprise data centers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 383(C).
    12. Liu, Wenyu & Yan, Yuejun & Sun, Yimeng & Mao, Hongju & Cheng, Ming & Wang, Peng & Ding, Zhaohao, 2023. "Online job scheduling scheme for low-carbon data center operation: An information and energy nexus perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    13. Zhang, Yingbo & Tang, Hong & Li, Hangxin & Wang, Shengwei, 2025. "Unlocking the flexibilities of data centers for smart grid services: Optimal dispatch and design of energy storage systems under progressive loading," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 316(C).
    14. Aunedi, Marko & Pantaleo, Antonio Marco & Kuriyan, Kamal & Strbac, Goran & Shah, Nilay, 2020. "Modelling of national and local interactions between heat and electricity networks in low-carbon energy systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    15. Zhang, Ce & Hou, Beiran & Li, Minxia & Dang, Chaobin & Chen, Xun & Li, Xiuming & Han, Zongwei, 2025. "Feasibility analysis of multi-mode data center liquid cooling system integrated with Carnot battery energy storage module," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    16. Borkowski, Mateusz & Piłat, Adam Krzysztof, 2022. "Customized data center cooling system operating at significant outdoor temperature fluctuations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PB).
    17. Jerez Monsalves, Juan & Bergaentzlé, Claire & Keles, Dogan, 2023. "Impacts of flexible-cooling and waste-heat recovery from data centres on energy systems: A Danish case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    18. Wang, Kaifeng & Ye, Lin & Yang, Shihui & Deng, Zhanfeng & Song, Jieying & Li, Zhuo & Zhao, Yongning, 2023. "A hierarchical dispatch strategy of hybrid energy storage system in internet data center with model predictive control," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    19. Das, Barun K. & Al-Abdeli, Yasir M. & Kothapalli, Ganesh, 2021. "Integrating renewables into stand-alone hybrid systems meeting electric, heating, and cooling loads: A case study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 1222-1236.
    20. Salahinezhad, Mohammad & Tahami, Hamed & Kamali, Seyedeh Elham & Saedpanah, Ehsan, 2025. "Trade-off analysis for optimal design of trigeneration energy systems integrated with solar and hydrogen subsystems: A novel optimization strategy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:327:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225020420. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.