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Carbon-Aware Computing Systems

Design sustainable computing systems that minimize environmental impact through carbon-aware scheduling, energy optimization, and green infrastructure patterns.

35 min readIntermediate
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What are Carbon-Aware Computing Systems?

Carbon-aware computing systems are designed to minimize their environmental impact by making intelligent decisions about when, where, and how to execute computational workloads. These systems dynamically optimize for carbon emissions alongside traditional metrics like performance and cost.

As the tech industry accounts for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, carbon-aware computing has become essential for sustainable software development and corporate environmental responsibility.

Interactive Carbon Footprint Calculator

Carbon Impact Analysis

Hourly Emissions:3744g CO₂
Monthly Emissions:2696kg CO₂
Annual Reduction:17660kg CO₂
Monthly Savings:$145.15
* Calculations based on regional carbon intensity and workload energy consumption patterns

Core Components

Carbon Intelligence Engine

Real-time carbon intensity monitoring and prediction system that tracks grid electricity sources across regions.

Workload Scheduler

Intelligent scheduler that delays or relocates workloads to minimize carbon footprint while meeting SLA requirements.

Energy Optimizer

Dynamic resource scaling and hardware optimization to minimize energy consumption per unit of work.

Carbon Accounting

Comprehensive tracking and reporting of carbon emissions with allocation to specific services and teams.

Production Implementation

Carbon-Aware Scheduler

import asyncio
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from typing import Dict, List, Optional
from dataclasses import dataclass

@dataclass
class CarbonIntensityData:
    region: str
    timestamp: datetime
    intensity: float  # gCO2/kWh
    forecast: List[float]  # Next 24 hours

@dataclass
class WorkloadRequest:
    id: str
    compute_requirements: Dict[str, int]
    deadline: datetime
    priority: str
    carbon_budget: Optional[float] = None

class CarbonAwareScheduler:
    def __init__(self):
        self.carbon_service = CarbonIntensityService()
        self.resource_manager = ResourceManager()
        self.workload_queue = []
        
    async def schedule_workload(self, workload: WorkloadRequest) -> Dict:
        """Schedule workload with carbon optimization"""
        
        # Get carbon intensity forecasts for available regions
        carbon_forecasts = await self.get_carbon_forecasts()
        
        # Find optimal execution window
        optimal_schedule = await self.find_optimal_execution_time(
            workload, carbon_forecasts
        )
        
        if optimal_schedule:
            # Reserve resources and schedule execution
            reservation = await self.resource_manager.reserve_resources(
                region=optimal_schedule['region'],
                resources=workload.compute_requirements,
                start_time=optimal_schedule['start_time'],
                duration=optimal_schedule['duration']
            )
            
            return {
                'status': 'scheduled',
                'workload_id': workload.id,
                'execution_plan': optimal_schedule,
                'reservation_id': reservation['id'],
                'estimated_emissions': optimal_schedule['estimated_emissions'],
                'carbon_savings': optimal_schedule['carbon_savings']
            }
        else:
            # Fallback to immediate execution with carbon tracking
            return await self.schedule_immediate_execution(workload)
    
    async def find_optimal_execution_time(
        self, 
        workload: WorkloadRequest, 
        carbon_forecasts: Dict[str, CarbonIntensityData]
    ) -> Optional[Dict]:
        """Find the best time/region combination for minimum emissions"""
        
        best_option = None
        min_emissions = float('inf')
        
        # Evaluate each region and time window
        for region, forecast_data in carbon_forecasts.items():
            for hour_offset in range(0, 24):  # Next 24 hours
                execution_time = datetime.utcnow() + timedelta(hours=hour_offset)
                
                # Check if execution time meets deadline
                if execution_time > workload.deadline:
                    continue
                
                # Estimate carbon emissions for this time/region
                carbon_intensity = forecast_data.forecast[hour_offset]
                estimated_duration = self.estimate_execution_time(workload)
                energy_consumption = self.estimate_energy_consumption(workload)
                
                total_emissions = (
                    energy_consumption * estimated_duration * carbon_intensity / 1000
                )  # kgCO2
                
                # Apply priority weighting
                priority_multiplier = {
                    'low': 1.0,      # Can wait for optimal time
                    'medium': 1.5,   # Some time flexibility
                    'high': 3.0      # Less carbon optimization
                }.get(workload.priority, 1.0)
                
                weighted_emissions = total_emissions * priority_multiplier
                
                if weighted_emissions < min_emissions:
                    min_emissions = weighted_emissions
                    baseline_emissions = self.get_baseline_emissions(workload)
                    
                    best_option = {
                        'region': region,
                        'start_time': execution_time,
                        'duration': estimated_duration,
                        'estimated_emissions': total_emissions,
                        'carbon_savings': max(0, baseline_emissions - total_emissions),
                        'carbon_intensity': carbon_intensity,
                        'delay_hours': hour_offset
                    }
        
        return best_option
    
    async def get_carbon_forecasts(self) -> Dict[str, CarbonIntensityData]:
        """Fetch carbon intensity forecasts for available regions"""
        regions = ['us-east-1', 'us-west-1', 'eu-north-1', 'eu-central-1']
        forecasts = {}
        
        for region in regions:
            forecast = await self.carbon_service.get_forecast(region)
            forecasts[region] = forecast
            
        return forecasts
    
    def estimate_energy_consumption(self, workload: WorkloadRequest) -> float:
        """Estimate energy consumption in kWh"""
        cpu_hours = workload.compute_requirements.get('cpu_cores', 1)
        memory_gb = workload.compute_requirements.get('memory_gb', 4)
        
        # Rough estimates for energy consumption
        cpu_energy = cpu_hours * 0.1  # 100W per core
        memory_energy = memory_gb * 0.004  # 4W per GB
        
        return cpu_energy + memory_energy
    
    def estimate_execution_time(self, workload: WorkloadRequest) -> float:
        """Estimate execution time in hours"""
        # Simplified estimation based on workload characteristics
        base_time = 1.0  # 1 hour baseline
        
        complexity_factor = workload.compute_requirements.get('complexity', 1.0)
        return base_time * complexity_factor

class CarbonIntensityService:
    """Service for fetching real-time carbon intensity data"""
    
    async def get_forecast(self, region: str) -> CarbonIntensityData:
        """Get 24-hour carbon intensity forecast for region"""
        
        # In production, integrate with services like:
        # - WattTime API for US regions  
        # - electricityMap API for global data
        # - Cloud provider carbon APIs
        
        mock_forecast = self.generate_mock_forecast(region)
        
        return CarbonIntensityData(
            region=region,
            timestamp=datetime.utcnow(),
            intensity=mock_forecast[0],
            forecast=mock_forecast
        )
    
    def generate_mock_forecast(self, region: str) -> List[float]:
        """Generate realistic carbon intensity patterns"""
        import random
        
        base_intensity = {
            'us-east-1': 480,   # Coal/gas heavy
            'us-west-1': 220,   # Renewables heavy
            'eu-north-1': 45,   # Hydro/wind heavy
            'eu-central-1': 320 # Mixed grid
        }.get(region, 400)
        
        # Generate 24-hour forecast with daily patterns
        forecast = []
        for hour in range(24):
            # Lower intensity during day (more solar)
            time_factor = 0.7 if 6 <= hour <= 18 else 1.0
            # Add some randomness
            variation = random.uniform(0.8, 1.2)
            
            intensity = base_intensity * time_factor * variation
            forecast.append(intensity)
            
        return forecast

# Usage example
async def main():
    scheduler = CarbonAwareScheduler()
    
    # Create a batch processing workload
    workload = WorkloadRequest(
        id="data-processing-job-123",
        compute_requirements={
            'cpu_cores': 16,
            'memory_gb': 64,
            'complexity': 2.0
        },
        deadline=datetime.utcnow() + timedelta(hours=12),
        priority='medium',
        carbon_budget=0.5  # 0.5 kg CO2 budget
    )
    
    result = await scheduler.schedule_workload(workload)
    print(f"Scheduling result: {result}")

# Run the scheduler
# asyncio.run(main())

Carbon Metrics Dashboard

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { LineChart, Line, XAxis, YAxis, CartesianGrid, Tooltip, ResponsiveContainer, BarChart, Bar } from 'recharts';

interface CarbonMetrics {
  timestamp: string;
  totalEmissions: number;    // kg CO2
  savedEmissions: number;    // kg CO2 saved through optimization
  carbonIntensity: number;   // gCO2/kWh
  energyConsumption: number; // kWh
  workloadsProcessed: number;
  averageDelay: number;      // minutes
}

interface ServiceEmissions {
  serviceName: string;
  emissions: number;
  percentage: number;
  trend: 'up' | 'down' | 'stable';
}

export const CarbonMetricsDashboard: React.FC = () => {
  const [metrics, setMetrics] = useState<CarbonMetrics[]>([]);
  const [serviceBreakdown, setServiceBreakdown] = useState<ServiceEmissions[]>([]);
  const [timeRange, setTimeRange] = useState<'24h' | '7d' | '30d'>('24h');
  
  useEffect(() => {
    fetchCarbonMetrics();
  }, [timeRange]);
  
  const fetchCarbonMetrics = async () => {
    try {
      const response = await fetch(`/api/carbon-metrics?range=${timeRange}`);
      const data = await response.json();
      setMetrics(data.metrics);
      setServiceBreakdown(data.serviceBreakdown);
    } catch (error) {
      console.error('Failed to fetch carbon metrics:', error);
    }
  };
  
  const totalEmissions = metrics.reduce((sum, m) => sum + m.totalEmissions, 0);
  const totalSavings = metrics.reduce((sum, m) => sum + m.savedEmissions, 0);
  const carbonEfficiency = totalSavings / (totalEmissions + totalSavings) * 100;
  
  return (
    <div className="p-6 space-y-6">
      {/* Summary Cards */}
      <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-4 gap-6">
        <div className="bg-white dark:bg-gray-800 rounded-lg p-6 shadow-lg">
          <h3 className="text-sm font-medium text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400">Total Emissions</h3>
          <p className="text-2xl font-bold text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
            {totalEmissions.toFixed(1)} kg CO₂
          </p>
        </div>
        
        <div className="bg-green-50 dark:bg-green-900/20 rounded-lg p-6 shadow-lg">
          <h3 className="text-sm font-medium text-green-600 dark:text-green-400">Carbon Saved</h3>
          <p className="text-2xl font-bold text-green-900 dark:text-green-100">
            {totalSavings.toFixed(1)} kg CO₂
          </p>
        </div>
        
        <div className="bg-blue-50 dark:bg-blue-900/20 rounded-lg p-6 shadow-lg">
          <h3 className="text-sm font-medium text-blue-600 dark:text-blue-400">Carbon Efficiency</h3>
          <p className="text-2xl font-bold text-blue-900 dark:text-blue-100">
            {carbonEfficiency.toFixed(1)}%
          </p>
        </div>
        
        <div className="bg-purple-50 dark:bg-purple-900/20 rounded-lg p-6 shadow-lg">
          <h3 className="text-sm font-medium text-purple-600 dark:text-purple-400">Avg Delay</h3>
          <p className="text-2xl font-bold text-purple-900 dark:text-purple-100">
            {(metrics.reduce((sum, m) => sum + m.averageDelay, 0) / metrics.length || 0).toFixed(0)} min
          </p>
        </div>
      </div>
      
      {/* Time Range Selector */}
      <div className="flex space-x-4">
        {(['24h', '7d', '30d'] as const).map((range) => (
          <button
            key={range}
            onClick={() => setTimeRange(range)}
            className={`px-4 py-2 rounded-lg font-medium transition-colors ${
              timeRange === range 
                ? 'bg-green-500 text-white' 
                : 'bg-gray-200 dark:bg-gray-700 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300'
            }`}
          >
            {range}
          </button>
        ))}
      </div>
      
      {/* Carbon Emissions Timeline */}
      <div className="bg-white dark:bg-gray-800 rounded-lg p-6 shadow-lg">
        <h3 className="text-lg font-semibold mb-4 text-gray-900 dark:text-white">Carbon Emissions Over Time</h3>
        <ResponsiveContainer width="100%" height={300}>
          <LineChart data={metrics}>
            <CartesianGrid strokeDasharray="3 3" />
            <XAxis dataKey="timestamp" />
            <YAxis />
            <Tooltip />
            <Line type="monotone" dataKey="totalEmissions" stroke="#ef4444" name="Total Emissions (kg CO₂)" />
            <Line type="monotone" dataKey="savedEmissions" stroke="#10b981" name="Saved Emissions (kg CO₂)" />
          </LineChart>
        </ResponsiveContainer>
      </div>
      
      {/* Service Breakdown */}
      <div className="bg-white dark:bg-gray-800 rounded-lg p-6 shadow-lg">
        <h3 className="text-lg font-semibold mb-4 text-gray-900 dark:text-white">Emissions by Service</h3>
        <ResponsiveContainer width="100%" height={300}>
          <BarChart data={serviceBreakdown}>
            <CartesianGrid strokeDasharray="3 3" />
            <XAxis dataKey="serviceName" />
            <YAxis />
            <Tooltip />
            <Bar dataKey="emissions" fill="#3b82f6" />
          </BarChart>
        </ResponsiveContainer>
      </div>
      
      {/* Optimization Recommendations */}
      <div className="bg-yellow-50 dark:bg-yellow-900/20 rounded-lg p-6 shadow-lg">
        <h3 className="text-lg font-semibold mb-4 text-yellow-800 dark:text-yellow-200">
          Carbon Optimization Recommendations
        </h3>
        <div className="space-y-3">
          <div className="flex items-center space-x-3">
            <div className="w-2 h-2 bg-green-500 rounded-full"></div>
            <p className="text-yellow-800 dark:text-yellow-200">
              Migrate batch jobs to US West region during peak solar hours (10-16 UTC)
            </p>
          </div>
          <div className="flex items-center space-x-3">
            <div className="w-2 h-2 bg-blue-500 rounded-full"></div>
            <p className="text-yellow-800 dark:text-yellow-200">
              Schedule ML training workloads during low-carbon intensity periods
            </p>
          </div>
          <div className="flex items-center space-x-3">
            <div className="w-2 h-2 bg-purple-500 rounded-full"></div>
            <p className="text-yellow-800 dark:text-yellow-200">
              Enable aggressive auto-scaling for development environments
            </p>
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
};

Real-World Examples

MS

Microsoft Azure

Carbon Aware Kubernetes

Microsoft's carbon-aware scheduler for Kubernetes workloads automatically migrates jobs to regions with cleaner energy sources, achieving 15-20% carbon reduction for batch processing workloads.

20% Carbon ReductionReal-time Grid Data
GO

Google Cloud

Carbon-Free Energy Matching

Google's commitment to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030 includes intelligent workload placement that matches compute demand with renewable energy availability in real-time.

24/7 CFE GoalRegional Optimization
ET

Etsy

Sustainable Search Infrastructure

Etsy implemented carbon-aware search indexing that processes data during low-carbon hours, reducing their search infrastructure's carbon footprint by 30% while maintaining search quality.

30% ReductionTime-shift Indexing

Best Practices

Do's

  • Implement carbon intensity APIs from multiple sources for accurate regional data

  • Design workloads to be time-flexible and region-portable for maximum optimization

  • Track and report carbon metrics alongside performance and cost metrics

  • Use marginal carbon emissions for accurate impact measurement

  • Implement graceful degradation when carbon optimization conflicts with SLAs

Don'ts

  • Don't rely solely on average carbon intensity - use real-time marginal emissions

  • Don't ignore the carbon cost of data transfer between regions

  • Don't assume renewable energy certificates equal zero emissions

  • Don't sacrifice critical user experience for minor carbon optimizations

  • Don't implement carbon optimization without proper monitoring and alerting

Architecture Patterns

Temporal Load Shifting

Delay non-urgent workloads to periods of low carbon intensity. Best for batch processing, data analytics, and backup operations.

20-40% ReductionLow Complexity

Spatial Load Migration

Move workloads to regions with cleaner energy sources. Requires multi-region infrastructure and data replication strategies.

10-30% ReductionHigh Complexity

Demand Shaping

Dynamically adjust system capacity and performance based on carbon intensity. Scale down during high-carbon periods.

5-15% ReductionMedium Complexity
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