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Systematic Review

A Systematic Review of Energy Efficiency Metrics for Optimizing Cloud Data Center Operations and Management

1
Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering Department, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada
2
Department of Energy, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Electronics 2025, 14(11), 2214; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14112214
Submission received: 25 April 2025 / Revised: 15 May 2025 / Accepted: 27 May 2025 / Published: 29 May 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Industrial Electronics)

Abstract

Cloud Data Centers (CDCs) are an essential component of the infrastructure for powering the digital life of modern society, hosting and processing vast amounts of data and enabling services such as streaming, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and global connectivity. Given this importance, their energy efficiency is a top priority, as they consume significant amounts of electricity, contributing to operational costs and environmental impact. Efficient CDCs reduce energy waste, lower carbon footprints, and support sustainable growth in digital services. Consequently, energy efficiency metrics are used to measure how effectively a CDC utilizes energy for computing versus cooling and other overheads. These metrics are essential because they guide operators in optimizing resource use, reducing costs, and meeting regulatory and environmental goals. To this end, this paper reviews more than 25 energy efficiency metrics and more than 250 literature references to CDCs, different energy-consuming components, and configuration setups. Then, some real-world case studies of corporations that use these metrics are presented. Thereby, the challenges and limitations are investigated for each metric, and associated future research directions are provided. Prioritizing energy efficiency in CDCs, guided by these energy efficiency metrics, is essential for minimizing environmental impact, reducing costs, and ensuring sustainable scalability for the digital economy.
Keywords: cloud data centers; energy efficiency; energy efficiency metrics; power supply cloud data centers; energy efficiency; energy efficiency metrics; power supply

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MDPI and ACS Style

Safari, A.; Sorouri, H.; Rahimi, A.; Oshnoei, A. A Systematic Review of Energy Efficiency Metrics for Optimizing Cloud Data Center Operations and Management. Electronics 2025, 14, 2214. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14112214

AMA Style

Safari A, Sorouri H, Rahimi A, Oshnoei A. A Systematic Review of Energy Efficiency Metrics for Optimizing Cloud Data Center Operations and Management. Electronics. 2025; 14(11):2214. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14112214

Chicago/Turabian Style

Safari, Ashkan, Hoda Sorouri, Afshin Rahimi, and Arman Oshnoei. 2025. "A Systematic Review of Energy Efficiency Metrics for Optimizing Cloud Data Center Operations and Management" Electronics 14, no. 11: 2214. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14112214

APA Style

Safari, A., Sorouri, H., Rahimi, A., & Oshnoei, A. (2025). A Systematic Review of Energy Efficiency Metrics for Optimizing Cloud Data Center Operations and Management. Electronics, 14(11), 2214. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14112214

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