CLEER Model

The CLEER (Cloud Energy and Emissions Research) Model is a comprehensive user friendly open-access model for assessing the net energy and emissions implications of cloud services in different regions and at different levels of market adoption. The model aims to provide full transparency on calculations and input value assumptions so that its results can be replicated and its data and methods can be easily refined and improved by the research community. The overarching purpose of the CLEER Model is to encourage and enable open scientific research on the positive and negative impacts of cloud services.

The CLEER Model is based on a bottom-up analysis of the major societal end uses of energy that are affected by cloud systems, including data centers, data transmission systems, client IT devices, commercial and residential buildings, and manufacturing, transportation, and waste management systems. It further includes key interrelationships between these end use systems. The scope of the CLEER Model is depicted schematically in the figure below.

Contacts

• Website: http://cleermodel.lbl.gov
• Ownership: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and Northwestern University