Is Water Cooling Right For Your Data Center?
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As cooling options become more important, some traditional methods such as the use of hot and cold aisles are being joined by newer cooling approaches. One is liquid or water cooling, which is quickly becoming a contender to replace costly mechanical air-based cooling.
Water Cooling Makes a Splash
Data centers have been reluctant to use water cooling for one primary reason: fear of spillage. When the need first arose for data center cooling, enterprises already had air-conditioning systems in place, so using air to handle the additional cooling needs of the computer room was a logical choice. But as rack power densities have increased, air cooling faces more challenges and, subsequently, becomes more expensive.
Making the Case for Replacing Air
Traditional data center cooling strategies have been notoriously costly and inefficient. With raised floors as well as computer-room air-conditioning (CRAC) units and computer-room air handlers (CRAH), data centers have required a great deal of energy to chill. They must often be able to reduce the room temperature to less than the ambient temperature outside, which can become more challenging in warmer climates or during particularly hot times of the year.
Counting the Cost of Liquid Cooling
Today’s liquid-cooling equipment has eliminated the universal concern of water leaks, although not all leaders are completely convinced of its safety. Still, in recent years, hardware manufacturers have demonstrated that they’ve minimized risk while at the same time optimizing performance.
When comparing cost, it’s often an apples-to-oranges analysis because the two cooling approaches have different needs. For example, liquid cooling uses either water or a manufactured liquid, but the water must be filtered for contaminants. Certain maintenance costs, such as ongoing water treatment, must be factored into operation of liquid systems, but the energy costs are less and the liquid is more efficient and cools the air faster than air.
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Thanks,
Tony