Talk:Data center

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The following are reference ideas for Data center. Click [show] for details.

The following reference(s) may be useful when improving this article in the future:

"up to 2 megawatt hours (MWh)"

Latest comment: 2 months ago1 comment1 person in discussion

The lead section says According to Terry Nguyen and Ben Green of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, a single data center can "consume up to 2 megawatt hours (MWh)," the same as "the equivalent power consumption of a small town." The sentence does not state over what period the 2 MWh are consumed. The cited source^[1] says A single data center can consume up to 2 megawatt hours of power—equivalent to the power used by 2,000 homes—and millions of gallons of water annually for cooling, straining local resources and infrastructure. If the "annually" applies to the 2 MWh figure, that would result in an implausibly low average power consumption of 228 W (less than a single PC running at maximum load).

It is possible that they meant a single data centre can consume 2 MW – but if they don't know the difference between a MWh and a MW, they are clearly not a reliable source on this topic. I propose removing the sentence.

References

↑ Nguyen, Terry; Green, Ben (2025). What Happens When Data Centers Come to Town? (PDF) (Report). Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, University of Michigan. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 2, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.

Un assiolo (talk) 20:03, 6 August 2026 (UTC)Reply

Wiki Education assignment: Introduction to Policy Analysis

Latest comment: 2 months ago1 comment1 person in discussion

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation–supported course assignment, between 26 July 2026 and 5 September 2026. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Alondraariasponce (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Alondraariasponce (talk) 20:22, 16 August 2026 (UTC)Reply

Wiki Education assignment: Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric

Latest comment: 1 month ago1 comment1 person in discussion

This article is currently the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation–supported course assignment, between 24 August 2026 and 9 December 2026. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): SuuoND (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by SuuoND (talk) 18:22, 24 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

Two environmental impact sections?

Latest comment: 1 month ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Why is there both a Energy use and environmental impact section and a Socioeconomic and environmental impacts section. It feels like the environmental impact should be kept to only one section. -- Moon1238 (talk) 14:51, 1 October 2026 (UTC)Reply

Proposed revision of the introductory definition

Latest comment: 16 days ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Could we revise the introductory definition to improve its clarity and give it wording and structure less dependent on the IBM source? The current sentence echoes IBM's introductory wording—"a room, building, or physical facility"—and then combines several different elements: the purpose of the facility, the equipment it houses, and a specific use, namely AI training.

I suggest separating the general definition from the description of its equipment and supporting infrastructure.

Proposed replacement for the introductory definition: "A "data center" is a facility that brings together computing resources to run applications and services and to process digital data. Its equipment typically includes servers, storage devices, and network connections, supported by power supplies, cooling systems, and security measures."

This would allow us to retain both the CRS report and the IBM article as reference sources. The goal is to improve clarity and avoid adhering too closely to the wording of a single source, rather than altering the scope of the article.

For now, I am only proposing this replacement, leaving the legal definition and historical information unchanged. Are there any reservations regarding the accuracy or wording of these two sentences?

"42 U.S. Code § 17112 - Energy efficiency for data center buildings". Legal Information Institute. Cornell Law School. Retrieved October 16, 2026.

This Library of Congress document from 2026 describes data centers as: "In its simplest form, a data center is a physical facility that houses and runs large computer systems. ... A data center typically contains multiple computer servers, data storage devices, and network equipment that can provide information technology (IT) infrastructure service for organizations to store, manage, process, and transmit large amounts of data."

Lawson, Ashley; Offutt, Martin C.; Ortiz, Natalie R.; Ling Zhu (12 May 2026). "Data Centers and Their Energy Consumption: Frequently Asked Questions" (legislation). Retrieved 16 October 2026.

Regards Oceanflynn (talk) 18:32, 16 October 2026 (UTC)Reply

[nguyen2025-1] Nguyen, Terry; Green, Ben (2025). What Happens When Data Centers Come to Town? (PDF) (Report). Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, University of Michigan. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 2, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.

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