# Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) measures data center efficiency - total facility power divided by IT equipment power

**Date:** 2025-12-18  
**Tags:** DataCenter, Sustainability, Efficiency  
**URL:** https://kelexine.is-a.dev/til/pue-data-center-efficiency

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TIL: Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) measures data center efficiency - total facility power divided by IT equipment power. A PUE of 1.0 is perfect (all power goes to computing). Industry average is ~1.6, hyperscalers achieve ~1.1. New metrics like 'tokens per watt' are emerging for AI workloads.


```python
# Data center efficiency metrics
pue = total_facility_power / it_equipment_power
wue = water_consumed_liters / it_equipment_power_kwh
cue = carbon_emitted_kg / it_equipment_power_kwh

# New AI-specific metrics
tokens_per_watt = llm_tokens_generated / power_consumed
intelligence_per_joule = model_accuracy / energy_used
```




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*This content is available at [kelexine.is-a.dev/til/pue-data-center-efficiency](https://kelexine.is-a.dev/til/pue-data-center-efficiency)*