3 min read · Updated 2026-10-25
PUE: Power Usage Effectiveness
PUE is the standard way to tell how much of a datacenter's energy actually reaches the computers.
The formula
PUE equals the total energy used by the facility divided by the energy used by the IT equipment. A PUE of 1.0 would mean every watt goes to the machines. A PUE of 1.5 means half a watt of overhead, mostly cooling and power conversion, for every watt of computing.
What is a good value
Typical enterprise datacenters sit around 1.5. Efficient hyperscale sites reach roughly 1.1 to 1.2. Immersion-cooled facilities can approach 1.05 because they need little or no fan and chiller energy.
How to improve it
Better airflow containment, liquid or immersion cooling, efficient power chains and free cooling with outside air all lower PUE. In OnlineCryptoMining, cooling upgrades lower the PUE displayed on your telemetry.
Frequently asked questions
Can PUE be below 1?
No. By definition it is at least 1.0.
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