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Equation 12 · Part 2 · The Physical Plant: Power, Cooling, and Networks in an AI Datacenter

Symbol E_IT

PUE=EfacilityEIT=1+Ecooling+Edistribution+EotherEIT.\mathrm{PUE} = \frac{E_{\mathrm{facility}}}{E_{\mathrm{IT}}} = 1 + \frac{E_{\mathrm{cooling}} + E_{\mathrm{distribution}} + E_{\mathrm{other}}}{E_{\mathrm{IT}}}.
EITE_{\mathrm{IT}}

What this part means

EIE_IT occurs below the fraction bar. The quantity above the bar is divided by this expression; zero is excluded as a denominator.

Its job in the formula

EIE_IT occurs below the fraction bar. The quantity above the bar is divided by this expression; zero is excluded as a denominator.

The passage around this formula

Power usage effectiveness is the industry’s one universally reported number: PUE=EfacilityEIT=1+Ecooling+Edistribution+EotherEIT\mathrm{PUE} = \frac{E_{\mathrm{facility}}}{E_{\mathrm{IT}}} = 1 + \frac{E_{\mathrm{cooling}} + E_{\mathrm{distribution}} + E_{\mathrm{other}}}{E_{\mathrm{IT}}}. Uptime Institute, which has collected the metric since its introduction by The Green Grid in 2007, reported a weighted average annual PUE of 1.54 across its 2025 respondent sample, “marking the sixth consecutive year that this headline figure has virtually stood still.” Beneath that flat average the sample separates: facilities commissioned within five years of the survey averaged 1.48, facilities of 20 MW and above averaged 1.44 globally, and 15% of respondents reported 1.3 or better [ 3 ] . Google, disclosing its own fleet, states that “in 2025, the average annual power usage effectiveness for…

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