Core Hours and Carbon Credits: Incentivizing Sustainability in HPC

TL;DR

This paper proposes energy- and carbon-based pricing schemes for HPC to incentivize sustainable user behavior, addressing the lack of user awareness and motivation for energy efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces two transparent multi-resource pricing models that incentivize energy-efficient HPC usage, supported by simulation, prototype, and user study evaluations.

Findings

Less than 30% of HPC users are aware of their energy consumption.

Existing pricing models often prioritize performance over energy efficiency.

Proposed schemes effectively incentivize energy-efficient behavior.

Abstract

Realizing a shared responsibility between providers and consumers is critical to manage the sustainability of HPC. However, while cost may motivate efficiency improvements by infrastructure operators, broader progress is impeded by a lack of user incentives. We conduct a survey of HPC users that reveals fewer than 30 percent are aware of their energy consumption, and that energy efficiency is among users' lowest priority concerns. One explanation is that existing pricing models may encourage users to prioritize performance over energy efficiency. We propose two transparent multi-resource pricing schemes, Energy- and Carbon-Based Accounting, that seek to change this paradigm by incentivizing more efficient user behavior. These two schemes charge for computations based on their energy consumption or carbon footprint, respectively, rewarding users who leverage efficient hardware and software. We evaluate these two pricing schemes via simulation, in a prototype, and a user study.