EU energy label for data centers: What SMEs should check now regarding hosting and server room (with checklist)

Status: October 5, 2026. The EU regulations are still in the legislative process.

New from Brussels: an energy label for data centers

On September 21, 2026, the EU Commission proposed a common rating system for data centers (source: European Commission). We reviewed the documents: The label is intended to assess energy and water consumption on a scale from A to G, indicating the source of electricity and the use of waste heat. It is intended to apply to systems with an IT output of 500 kilowatts or more; the first labels are scheduled to be issued starting August 15, 2027. This will make it easier to compare data centers in a region. A consultation on mandatory minimum standards is underway until December 14, 2026; the Commission plans to present a legislative proposal in the second quarter of 2027. All of this is still a proposal.

The pressure comes from electricity demand: The EU wants to triple its computing center capacity in five to seven years. According to the Bitkom study „Computing Centers in Germany“ (conducted by the Borderstep Institute), the consumption of computing centers in Germany rose from 12 billion kilowatt hours (2015) to 21.3 billion (2025); the capacity is expected to grow by 70 percent by 2030 (source: Bitkom).

Around two-thirds of the electricity flows into servers, storage, and network technology; the remaining third into cooling, building technology, and uninterruptible power supply. This ratio is measured by the PUE value (Power Usage Effectiveness): A PUE of 1.5 means that for every 100 kilowatt-hours of IT, another 50 are used for infrastructure. The servers themselves save: standard models have become 26 percent more efficient annually from 2017 to 2022. The demand is still growing faster.

Does this also apply to SMEs? Not a mandatory topic, but a comparative tool

Our assessment: For SMEs, the label is not a mandatory requirement. Direct implications first affect large installations: The label is intended to apply to IT systems with a capacity of 500 kilowatts or more; the Bitkom association counts around 2,000 data centers in Germany with a connection capacity of 100 kilowatts or more; and a typical server room in the SME sector usually has a capacity of less than that. There is therefore no requirement for a label for the own server room.

It still directly affects you: Major hosting providers, housing partners and cloud providers where you run systems are likely to fall under the label; their metrics are comparable. Smaller regional providers often fall below the threshold and do not receive a label. Where there is no help is to ask the numbers yourself. And those who operate in their own basement bear the electricity prices, which the Bitkom classifies as a disadvantage for the location in the European comparison.

Why the SME notification still applies: electricity, contracts and service providers

The label does not apply to you as a business operator, but to you as a customer. It appears in your daily life in four places, and it is worth asking about it today, even if the first labels do not appear until August 15, 2027:

• Electricity is included in your bill: In the case of housing (colocation), electricity is often billed by consumption or priced in a flat rate; in the case of hosting and managed services, it is included in the monthly fee. How much electricity your server actually costs depends on the PUE of the data center. An example based on assumed values (300 watts of continuous load, 25 cents per kilowatt hour): With a PUE of 1.5, the server, including cooling and infrastructure, requires around 3,940 kilowatt-hours per year; with 1.2, around 3,150. The difference of about 790 kilowatt-hours corresponds to about 200 euros per server per year, or about 2,000 euros for ten servers. Whether your provider passes on this benefit is stated in the contract. Without the PUE value, you can't even estimate it.
• Contracts run longer than the deadline: Hosting, housing, and cloud contracts often run over several years and automatically renew if you don’t cancel in time. Anyone who extends by three years in December 2026 is bound until December 2029, more than two years after the initial terms, and without any key performance indicators in the contract. Therefore, check the duration, cancellation period, and price adjustment clauses, especially for energy costs. Any extension and any price increase notice are a good reason to request the figures.
• Your service provider sits in the middle: Many system houses and managed service providers do not operate their own data center; instead, they rent capacity. The label applies to the data center, not to the service provider. Without asking, you do not know which facility your systems are running in and what values apply there. Therefore, ask your IT service provider and have the answer written into the contract or the performance description.
• Your customers will eventually ask: Who supplies larger companies? In purchasing, there is an increasing demand for sustainability data from the supply chain (our assessment, not legal advice). The metrics of your data center are a component that you don’t have to measure yourself, but you can certainly document.

The answer also reveals how well an operator manages their operations: Anyone who can name PUE, the power source, and the use of waste heat today has their numbers ready. Anyone who sidesteps the issue or only provides marketing statements probably needs to improve.

These questions are helpful for hosting providers and system houses:

• PUE: What value applies to the data center where my systems are running, and how is it measured? Ask for the annual average value, not the best individual value.
• Source of electricity: What is the share of renewable electricity, and are there any proof of origin?
• Waste heat and water: If waste heat is used, and how much is the water consumption? Both of these should be indicated on the EU label.
• Label planning: Does the provider expect an EU label, and how is it preparing for it?
• Where are my systems located? Many IT service providers do not operate their own facilities; instead, they rent capacity in a data center. Ask which one so that you can obtain the key performance indicators for the actual location.

The added value for SMEs lies in the fact that electricity becomes a selectable criterion alongside price, support, and data protection for the first time. You get a basis for contract negotiations, can compare providers fairly, and have something in hand when dealing with customer questions.

No one-man show: Other markets are also relying on the PUE

The EU is not alone, and the PUE serves as a benchmark everywhere. In Germany, the Energy Efficiency Act applies to data centers with a capacity of 300 kilowatts or more: Existing systems must achieve a PUE of no more than 1.5 by July 2027, no more than 1.3 by July 2030, new systems by July 2026 1.2, and must continue to reuse waste heat. The cabinet decided on a draft on June 24, 2026 that would lower the values for existing systems to 1.6 and 1.4; it is not yet in effect. Singapore requires a PUE of 1.25 under full load for new capacity in its tender, while Australia requires a five-star rating for data centers of federal agencies according to NABERS (approximately a PUE of 1.4).

Checklist: What SMEs can do now

You don’t have to tackle everything at once. The checklist has two parts: the first is based on the EU proposal and concerns your providers. The second applies regardless of the label, is based on common practice and the Bitkom data, and concerns your own server room. It does not replace advice, but shows where you can start. The details can be found in the sections below.

Part 1: What the label will change for you

• Ask providers about key metrics (now): Let them mention Hoster, the data center and system house, the power source and the use of waste heat. The list of questions is at the top.
• Smaller providers should ask themselves: If a provider is unlikely to fall under the label, please request the same figures in a short letter.
• From August 15, 2027: First EU labels; compare them with your providers before any contract renewal.
• Second quarter of 2027: Commission proposal for minimum standards; check if it affects your provider or your hardware.

Part 2: What saves money regardless of the label Strom and Geld

• Check support end dates: Specify for each system when security updates will be available. For Windows Server 2016, extended support ends on January 12, 2027; after that, security updates will only be available through Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates program (subscription billing via Azure Arc). Microsoft recommends switching to Windows Server 2025.
• Track usage and consumption: Which servers are running, how loaded are they, how much power do they consume? Are old machines just running out of habit? Are there services that no one uses anymore?
• Consolidate: Put low-loaded machines together on a common virtual host.
• Evaluate hardware: Compare refurbished Enterprise devices with new ones before purchasing.
• Outsource: Check which local services, such as email, telephony, or conferencing software, are suitable for the cloud.
• Check air flow: Check the airflow in the rack on your own servers. A clean separation of the cold and hot circuits reduces the required cooling capacity.

The own server room: Where the power stays

Many SMEs still operate their own, inadequately cooled server rooms. Outdated processors, inefficient power supplies, and poor ventilation drive consumption, and the hardware runs day and night, even when there is little demand for performance outside of office hours. A common lever is air flow: When cold supply air and warm exhaust air mix in the rack, the air conditioning system has to work harder than necessary.

Power is only part of the bill; the other part is the attention of your IT team. Those who detect hardware failures and monitor air conditioning systems have less time for updates, segmentation, and monitoring. This is especially noticeable in the network, which operates around the clock: Modern WLAN security in a company requires constant updates, clean network segmentation, and active monitoring. Outdated access points and switches are doubly expensive because they draw more power and often no longer receive security updates. Therefore, the support check is the first item on the checklist in the second part.

Our rule of thumb: Well-loaded servers save more power than the most expensive processors.

Virtualization: Less hardware, same performance

The most electricity can be saved when servers are running idle. A physical server per application was standard twenty years ago; today many systems can be pooled on a single machine. Through virtualization, multiple separate systems run isolated on one machine: fewer mainboards, fewer power supplies, less heat. The hypervisor dynamically distributes computing power to where it is needed most. A peak load no longer forces you to purchase hardware.

Pre-processed hardware: What the IT² concept brings, and where the limits lie

What remains after consolidation does not have to be new. The IT² concept stands for this approach: technically outdated business devices such as servers or laptops, which according to the provider are up to 70 percent cheaper than new equipment (not verified by us). Instead of replacing servers completely every three years, servers, firewalls, and switches remain in use longer, and less electrical waste is generated.

Before re-deploying the equipment, capacitors are replaced, fans are cleaned, and old data drives are securely deleted before new SSDs are installed. For file servers, Active Directory, or ERP systems, the performance usually suffices. Reputable providers include the devices in maintenance contracts and guarantee quick replacement.

There are two things you should clarify before buying: First, newer servers deliver significantly more power per watt, so refurbished models are especially worthwhile for low loads. Check the idle consumption and power supply efficiency. Second: Check whether the manufacturer still provides firmware and security updates. Without them, even the cheapest device is risky.

Outsourcing: Cloud services or a regional data center?

Not every service has to run in-house. An external data center takes the physical maintenance off your hands, and there are economies of scale that are hardly achievable in the basement: Several customers share efficient climate control and emergency power supply. Cloud services also relieve the burden. Migrating to Microsoft 365 often makes a local Exchange server redundant, you save on electricity costs and the hassle of patch management. The market is following this trend: According to Bitkom, 49 percent of Germany’s data center capacity now comes from cloud infrastructure; in 2019 it was 29 percent.

The question remains: where to go. Large hyperscale providers offer enormous scalability; for the mid-market, regional providers often have tangible advantages: fixed contact points, short response times, and a clear location. If your data is located in a data center in Germany, you know where it physically resides and who has access to the racks. This makes it easier to demonstrate compliance to customers and regulators; it does not replace a clean order processing agreement. Regional providers also often rely on local green electricity tariffs and use free cooling in the cooler months. The table sorts the differences:

Anyone who wants to outsource AI applications should take special care: systems with graphics processors require significantly more power and cooling than traditional servers. Our article on GPU servers in industry explains what they do and how companies use them. We have separately summarized what you should consider when renting an AI server in Germany.

Our advice: Count first, then compare

Start with the inventory assessment; it costs little and provides the basis for any further decision. Today, anyone who knows what their servers are capable of and consume can compare providers using the EU label starting in 2027, and can already specifically ask about them and not have to choose when purchasing new equipment. Ask your hosts and service providers the same questions about PUE, power source, and heat recovery: Anyone who can answer them today is prepared to apply for the label. This will lower your electricity bill and relieve your IT team.