Challenges in Managing Tropical Data Centres: A guide to the Singapore Green Mark Certification and other Singapore data centre Standards

Patricia Alvina, Business Development ASEAN for EkkoSense AI, discusses her views on the current challenges of managing tropical data centres. Pat also provides an advisory guide on the Singapore data centre standards impacting local businesses and the potential impact on critical operations. 

Singapore takes data centre energy usage very seriously. A moratorium was imposed from 2019 to 2022¹, and several sustainability standards for tropical data centres have also been introduced — including SS564, SS697:2023, GMDC:2024, and SS715:2025.
 
These guidelines focus on sustainability and using metrics such as PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) and other benchmarks to track data centre efficiency. While there are differences between the standards, they all support the operation of data centre cooling systems at a higher temperature environment – taking into account the local climate.

The Tropical Data Centre Standard (SS697:2023)

The Tropical Data Centre Standard (SS697:2023) was officially introduced in 2023. The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) states that for every 1°C increase in room temperature of a standard colocation or hyperscale data centre there’s an opportunity to secure cooling energy savings of between 2% to 5%.² .  

Figures above inspired by guidelines in SS 697 .³ 

Singapore Standard SS 564 

Singapore Standard 564 focuses on managing data centre facilities through the application of systems and processes to manage and improve data centre sustainability. Processes evolve and improve over time by applying the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model

The above picture describes the best practices applied to a sustainable data centre according to SS 564 

DC Building & Monitoring /Measurement is one of the key components for a sustainable data center. By applying the PDCA model, the organisation should set a target, develop a plan to achieve it, and conduct an audit to identify potential improvements.⁴ Therefore, high granularity operational, real data is needed. This allows the data center operator to confidently and reliably take the decision on improvement. 

Singapore Green Mark Scheme 2024 (GMDC)

The most recent update of the Green Mark for Data Centres (GMDC) was issued in 2024. It sets tiered certification levels (GoldPlus, Platinum) based on energy performance, carbon intensity, and operational efficiency.  

Green Mark for Data Centres (GMDC) encourages: 

• Low Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) targets (1.39 -1.46)⁵

• Carbon tracking and ESG reporting⁶

• Efficient Total Cooling System efficiency (TSE) in both water and air side⁷

• Energy metering and real-time reporting of PUE⁸ 

The Singapore Green Mark for Data Centers standard is not as developed as it’s sister Green Mark for Buildings standard. However, the GMDC 2024 is aligned with the Singapore Green DC Road map. 

SS 697:2023 – Tropical Data Centre Standard

The purpose of Singapore Standard 697:2023 is to guide local data centre operators in their transition from conventional practices through to optimising energy efficiency in tropical conditions. The Standard encourages the use of data centre information technology equipment (ITE) to optimise data centre energy efficiency in tropical climate⁹.

SS697:2023 focuses on a Total Cost of Ownership model to determine the optimal environmental operating envelopes for different service levels. The standard also addresses the unique challenges of operating data centres in hot and humid climates. Key features include: 

• Operating temperature range of 26°C to 35°C 

• Humidity control between 60%–90% RH 

• Airflow zoning, chilled water temperature optimisation, and SLA templates 

• A Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model to justify higher temperature operations 

The Singapore Tropical Data Centre Standard also references  EU Data Centre guidance. In particular advice that the air flow path from cooling units to IT equipment is short and direct, and avoids obstructions to maximise cooling effectiveness. It also highlighted the importance of the specification of wider operating humidity and temperature ranges for the data centre floor.¹⁰

SS 715:2025 – Energy Efficiency of Data Centre IT Equipment

This latest standard provides energy-efficiency requirements and guidelines for the selection, deployment and operations of green field and brown field systems and equipment (server, storage, networking). 

Focused on IT infrastructure, SS 715:2025 aims for ≥30% energy savings through: 

• Minimum energy efficiency benchmarks for servers, storage, and networking 

• Alignment with US ENERGY STAR and EU Code of Conduct for energy efficiency in data centre 

• Support for high-temperature operation (up to 35°C) 

• Best practices for workload consolidation, virtualisation, and utilisation monitoring 

This standard provides guidance for developing procedures to maximise server capacity, minimise underutilisation, optimise energy use and environmental condition. 

Solving the challenges in managing tropical data centres

 
What underpins all of the above regulations is having access to cooling, power and capacity real-time data in high granularity.

By leveraging an AI-powered monitoring, visualisation, and analytics tool such as EkkoSoft Critical—capable of measuring temperature, humidity, and energy at the rack level in 1- to 5-minute intervals—operators can gain the cooling, power, and capacity insights required to meet Singapore’s stringent data centre standards.
 
EkkoSoft Critical’s AI-powered optimisation capability not only shows exactly what’s happening, but also why – allowing data centre teams to always make informed data centre optimisation decisions.  And because the software introduces powerful algorithms that correlate the relationship between the critical infrastructure and IT loads, data centre operations teams get to strike exactly the right balance between handling increased workloads, delivering quantifiable energy savings, and reducing risk. 

About the author – Patricia Alvina

Patricia Alvina brings deep experience working across the energy industry, with background as a project manager for innovative project such as Virtual Power Plants, Hydrogen Power to Power System in Energy Research Institute at NTU and ENGIE, and sales in the SIEMENS building team with responsibility for sustainability and digitalisation. She brings a holistic perspective from operations, sales from innovation and commercial sectors.  

Contact Patricia to continue the conversation.

Article research references

1. Written reply to PQ on new data centres. (n.d.). https://www.mti.gov.sg/Newsroom/Parliamentary-Replies/2021/01/Written-reply-to-PQ-on-new-data-centres
2. Infocomm Media Development Authority. (2025). Singapore Standards SS 715:2025 – Energy Efficiency of Data Centre IT equipment. https;//www.imda.gov.sg/-/media/imda/files/news-and-events/media-room/media-releases/2025/08/sg-it-energy-efficiency-standard-for-data-centres-launches/imda-factsheet-itee-standard.pdf
3. Singapore Standards Council. (2025). SS 715:2025: Energy efficiency of data centre IT equipment. Enterprise Singapore. 
4. Standard, S. (2020). SS 564 Sustainable Data Centre 
5. 16 Sep 2025 BCA. Available at: https://www1.bca.gov.sg/docs/default-source/docs-corp-buildsg/sustainability/20241008_gmdc2024_ver1.pdf?sfvrsn=407a219c_0 (Accessed: 16 September 2025), Page 3.
6. 16 Sep 2025 BCA. Available at: https://www1.bca.gov.sg/docs/default-source/docs-corp-buildsg/sustainability/20241008_gmdc2024_ver1.pdf?sfvrsn=407a219c_0 (Accessed: 16 September 2025). Page 11
7. 16 Sep 2025 BCA. Available at: https://www1.bca.gov.sg/docs/default-source/docs-corp-buildsg/sustainability/20241008_gmdc2024_ver1.pdf?sfvrsn=407a219c_0 (Accessed: 16 September 2025). Page 4
8. 16 Sep 2025 BCA. Available at: https://www1.bca.gov.sg/docs/default-source/docs-corp-buildsg/sustainability/20241008_gmdc2024_ver1.pdf?sfvrsn=407a219c_0 (Accessed: 16 September 2025). Page 5
9. Standard, S. (2023). SS 697 Deployment and operation of data centre IT equipment under tropical climate.
10. Acton, M., Bertoldi, P., & Booth, J. (2022). 2022 best practice guidelines for the EU code of conduct on data centre energy efficiency. European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), Brussels, Belgium, Tech. Rep. JRC128184. 5.1.8