Data centers use up a significant amount of energy, needed to power tremendous amounts of computing equipment. Given the amount of energy involved, it is bound to lead to increased temperatures which can detrimentally impact the functionality of the equipment. And with 2020 predicting the rise of hyperscale data center facilities, a number of methods are being implemented to keep the infrastructure cool. One of them is liquid cooling.
What is liquid cooling?
Liquid cooling helps reduce the energy consumption of cooling systems. This is owing to the heat capacity of liquids being higher than that of air, which leads to heat being transferred to the liquid and then successfully removed from the data center. For this to happen, there are many liquid cooling technologies available that manage to transfer heat to a liquid away from the main source.
Compared to air, it is found that liquid cooling is at least 2-10 times more effective when it comes to transporting heat away from a source – no wonder data centers have largely started deploying Liquid Cooling technologies to their server rooms.Â
When should you consider liquid cooling for your data center?
If your data center generates a high amount of energy every day, especially if it is located in a tropical environment, then perhaps it’s time to opt for Liquid Cooling technologies to cool your server room a lot more efficiently.Â
Your data center should be well-equipped to handle any more load. With an air-cooled system, it becomes difficult to support the load. Therefore, you can implement Liquid Cooling technologies such as full immersion cooling systems and direct-to-chip cooling.
Need to cool high-density equipment? Especially when there is enough space from the Chilled Water plant or a cooling tower, Liquid Cooling can be implemented and help function as a solution working near the heat source.Â
It should be noted that Liquid Cooling isn’t for every data center.
Do not try and implement Liquid Cooling if:
There’s a lot of empty space between the electronic equipment
There are inefficient hot-aisle and cool-aisle cabinet layouts
There is no cold airflow despite empty cabinets
There are holes and crevices in the server room that allows cold air to escape, and lead to humidifying the air
Now that you recognize that Liquid Cooling functions on the principle of higher energy efficiency and reducing costs on operation, understand your data center’s cooling requirements and take the right decisions.
As experts in the field, at Hardy Racks, we understand your specific data center requirements and containment needs. To check for the feasibility of either aisle containment and to know which cooling method works best for your data center, get in touch with us today!