What Is PUE?_
Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) measures data center energy efficiency as the ratio of total facility power to IT equipment power. A PUE of 1.0 means all power goes to computing; typical data centers achieve 1.3–1.6. Proper cable management, containment, and liquid cooling can reduce PUE by 10–20%. PUE is the industry's primary metric for operational efficiency.
Technical Details
PUE is calculated as Total Facility Power / IT Equipment Power. The overhead that drives PUE above 1.0 includes cooling systems (CRAH/CRAC units, chillers, cooling towers, CDUs), power distribution losses (transformer losses, UPS inefficiency, PDU losses), lighting, security, and other facility systems. In air-cooled GPU data centers, cooling can account for 30–40% of total power, pushing PUE to 1.4–1.6. Direct liquid cooling significantly reduces cooling overhead because liquid cooling is inherently more efficient and eliminates the need for large air handling systems. Well-designed DLC facilities can achieve PUE below 1.1. The infrastructure quality — proper containment, efficient cable management that doesn't obstruct airflow, right-sized cooling — directly impacts PUE.
How Leviathan Systems Works with PUE
Leviathan Systems contributes to facility PUE optimization through proper cable management (preventing airflow obstruction), containment compliance, and liquid cooling integration that enables more efficient heat rejection.