In response to Izabela Jasinska, Liquid Cooling Enterprise Chief at Chemours, superior immersion programs can slash cooling vitality by as much as 90%, reduce water use to near-zero and shrink footprints.
It’s no secret to this viewers that AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and next-generation chips are creating a brand new set of challenges and alternatives for knowledge centres. Whether or not you’re a knowledge centre operator; design agency; or a server, tank, or chip producer, you should discover methods to fulfill the rising chip-density, capability, and warmth calls for, whereas minimising environmental affect and useful resource consumption.
Traditionally, these services have relied upon air-cooled applied sciences. Nonetheless, as data-processing demand ramps up worldwide, these applied sciences alone are starting to fall quick, threatening some services’ effectivity and long-term viability.
Knowledge centres are going through a ‘triple menace’ with regards to cooling their processing items: excessive vitality consumption, water use, and physical-space calls for in already constrained areas. Facility house owners and operators seeking to scale operations rapidly and effectively want a long-term – moderately than a stopgap – resolution to those cooling challenges.
Liquid cooling can function one attainable resolution. This expertise gives vitality and water effectivity, excessive efficiency capabilities, and a decrease complete value of possession throughout numerous climates. For instance, when in comparison with air-cooled applied sciences, two-phase immersion cooling applied sciences can:
- Scale back cooling vitality utilization by as much as 90% – with a Energy Utilization Effectiveness (PUE) approaching 1 (as little as 1.05)
- Practically remove water use throughout most climates and
- Allow as much as a 60% discount within the bodily knowledge centre footprint
To place these figures into context, US adoption alone might generate greater than 8,000 TWh in vitality financial savings by 2055, equal to powering 25 million households over the identical interval. Moreover, in contrast with different liquid-cooling applied sciences, two-phase immersion options can cut back facility working prices by as much as 88% and total value of possession by as much as 40%.
Past vitality, water, and value discount, liquid-cooling applied sciences can even cut back the bodily data-center footprint and inside noise, whereas supporting circularity. Some fluid will be recovered, reprocessed, and reused, and the warmth eliminated can be recovered and used for different functions. These efficiency and effectivity positive aspects will be achieved with greater rack density, which means fewer tanks are required for a similar computing energy.
Liquid cooling – single-phase or two-phase, direct-to-chip or immersion – affords thermal efficiency that may help the AI and HPC increase, whereas serving to operators minimise their carbon footprint.
Warning: Don’t underestimate the criticality of superior supplies
Superior supplies and fluids play a crucial function in fashionable knowledge centres. Whether or not it’s conventional air-cooling expertise, the servers themselves, or the CPUs and GPUs that energy them, knowledge centres depend on fluorinated chemistry day-after-day. Right this moment, greater than 95% of knowledge centres are air-cooled utilizing conventional HFC- or HFO-based refrigerants..
Amid ongoing media and regulatory dialogue about fluorinated chemistry and PFAS, one could also be tempted to dismiss fluorinated options; nonetheless, these are confirmed chemistries the trade already depends on and makes use of each day. Making a choice with out adequately assessing the expertise might doubtlessly hinder long-term knowledge centre efficiency and competitiveness.
When choosing a liquid-cooling resolution, the trade ought to take a holistic, data- and science-based strategy. A piecemeal evaluation can result in less-than-optimal efficiency, repeat bills, or overlooking viable alternate options.
The underside line is, tackling the information centre triple menace requires a brand new strategy, and liquid cooling presents a set of revolutionary, secure, and viable options that advantage shut consideration.
