Data Center PUE Calculator
Calculate Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and DCiE from total facility power and IT power, with the non-IT overhead. Calculates in your browser.
Power Usage Effectiveness
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Show the math
PUE compares everything the facility draws with the power that reaches the IT equipment:
PUE = total facility power ÷ IT power · DCiE = 1 ÷ PUE
A perfect PUE of 1.0 means every watt goes to computing; typical data centers sit around 1.4–1.6, and efficient ones below 1.2. The overhead figure is the power spent on cooling, power conversion and lighting. Calculated entirely in your browser.
What this does
A PUE calculator finds Power Usage Effectiveness and DCiE from total facility power and IT power.
How to use it
- Enter the total facility power.
- Enter the IT power.
- Read PUE, DCiE and the non-IT overhead.
How it works
A PUE of 1.0 is perfect; typical sites are 1.4–1.6 and efficient ones below 1.2. DCiE is the inverse as a percentage, so PUE 1.5 is about 67%.
PUE = total facility power ÷ IT power
Understanding your result
PUE shows how much total power it takes to deliver one unit to the IT load: 1.0 is perfect, 1.4 to 1.6 is typical, and below 1.2 is efficient. The overhead above 1.0 is cooling, power conversion, and lighting, so a high PUE points straight at where to cut. It measures efficiency, not absolute consumption, so a lower PUE on a bigger facility can still use more power.
Example
1,500 kW total for 1,000 kW of IT load is a PUE of 1.5.
Sources & methodology
Last updated .
Frequently asked questions
What is PUE?
Power Usage Effectiveness is the total power a facility draws divided by the power that reaches the IT equipment. A PUE of 1.0 is perfect; typical data centers sit around 1.4–1.6 and efficient ones below 1.2.
What is DCiE?
Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency is the inverse of PUE, shown as a percentage, the share of total power that does useful computing. A PUE of 1.5 is a DCiE of about 67%.
What counts as overhead?
Everything that is not IT load, cooling, power conversion losses and lighting. It is the total facility power minus the IT power.
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