This audio was created using Microsoft Azure Speech Services
With more than 8.5 billion data centres worldwide, there is a demand for efficient cooling centres. The IT sector consumes around 100% of the electricity, which gets converted into heat. Do not go for cooling via conventional methods as it consumes 50% of the total power requirement of data centres. These data centres affect sustainability and the environment. Luckily, there are more efficient ways of data cooling.
Old-fashioned-way: Raised floor cooling
For the past few years, the data centres used pressurised air from a raised floor for cooling. The air that is moved by the constant speed of a fan is cooled via Computer Room Air Conditioner (CRAC) and Computer Room Air Handler (CRAH). This conventional method worked well where the computer densities were low. Power Usage Effectiveness of over 2.0 was common.
However, the problem with using this method is that the servers near the floor get the coolest air first, whereas the servers at the top often have the warmer inlet temperature. If you increase the airflow to solve the issue of cooling, efficiency will decrease because air now streams past the face of the server rack and mixes with hot return air.
Modern precision cooling solutions
With the increase in densities, the demand for more efficient cooling methods arose, and these advances became necessary. The cool and hot air containment design helped people overcome the limitation of the constant speed of a fan method and allowed better efficiency. Under this method, the variable speed fans installed in cooling units allow the data centres to control the temperature and energy consumption effectively and without hassle. The use of energy by variable speed is much lower than that of the constant speed fans.
Economisers: on rise
One of the most promising methods of saving energy while cooling the data centres is free cooling or economising. To cool the tower or to blow off heat from the chillers, outside air is used in this process. This method purely depends on the outside temperature. A cooler climate helps to provide a tremendous advantage to the users.
Immersion Cooling
Power line transformers require more significant cooling permits. Circuits are submerged into a dielectric fluid like mineral oil that does not damage the components. The heat thus gets removed from the equipment more effectively.
Electricity: Not the only resource a data centre consumes
Some alternative methods of cooling down the data centres use an enormous amount of water. Water is a valuable resource that we need to save for the future as well. Even fossil fuel power plants consume significant amount of water. Moreover, the extra power required by dry cooling systems results in higher water consumption for dry cooling.
Experimentation leads to greater efficiency
The most efficient cooling designs use fresh air cooling methods. Use CRAC when the outdoor conditions do not provide enough cooling for the data center requirements. Data center’s power usage and efficiency are essential; hence it is crucial to maintain its life.
Schneider Electric India offers the latest data centre cooling solutions that help to overlook data management challenges at an affordable price. They provide cooling distribution and piping accessories that help to ensure optimized cooling distribution. For more information, you can visit their website!
