Filled with trillions of gigabytes of data, data centres heat up quickly as they continually process information. To combat this, they’re filled with innovative cooling systems that prevent any damage to the information they house.
We explore exactly how this is done below…
Ways To Cool A Data Centre
Air Cooling
One of the more common ways to cool a data centre, air cooling utilises fans, vents, and air conditioning to circulate out the warm air and replace it with cool air. This solution is typically used in data centres that operate at less than 20 kilowatts per rack, as it’s not suitable to cool more heat-intensive data operations.
Liquid Cooling
Liquid cooling uses pipes full of water to absorb heat away from server racks, effectively and efficiently cooling them down. This is a great solution for power-intensive workloads, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads.
This form of cooling is growing more popular, as it is more energy efficient and sustainable than more traditional air cooling. Plus, it can easily be scaled up or down for changing needs, and takes up limited space within data centres, allowing for more space to be used for servers.
Immersion Cooling
This form of cooling submerges servers in fluids that absorb any heat generated. Immersion cooling doesn’t tend to use water – instead, it uses dielectric liquid such as mineral oil, as it conducts heat far better than water or air.
While this is a less common form of data centre cooling currently, it’s gaining traction due to its efficiency and ability to cool servers handling AI workloads. It also reduces heat strain on the hardware, and helps extend its lifespan.
Free Cooling
In colder climates, data centres use free cooling, bypassing traditional methods entirely. This form of cooling pulls in cold air or water from the outside to cycle around the centre to absorb heat from the hardware.
You may not be able to use this if your data centre is being built in a warmer climate, but if it’s a possibility, it’s incredibly energy efficient.
Adiabatic Cooling
Adiabatic cooling uses water evaporation to pre-cool the air in data centres, so servers and hardware never overheat. It helps to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption of data centres without wasting any water or power, and is more cost-effective than other forms of cooling.
Sustainable Cooling: At The Heart of Modern Data Centres
As the world works its way to becoming carbon neutral, sustainability is a key question when it comes to cooling data centres. Older centres are being upgraded to be more energy efficient, and new centres are currently being constructed to be as energy efficient as possible.
Cooling can eat up a lot of the energy required for data centres, and here at Sweet Projects, we take it into careful consideration with every project we undertake. That’s why we only implement cutting-edge cooling techniques that focus on both sustainability and data safety, with a focus on adiabatic cooling.
Waste Heat: Keeping Homes Warm
Due to the amount of heat being generated by data centres, a new government scheme is planning to help funnel it towards homes to provide low-cost, green heating. These unique projects will connect 10,000 homes to low-carbon energy and provide thousands of skilled jobs in the local area.
As the UK continues to work its way towards net zero, excess heat from data centres will play a vital role.
Elevate Your Data Centre With Sweet Projects
Whether you’re constructing a brand new data centre or upgrading an existing one, Sweet Projects is on hand to help. We’re at the forefront of data centre construction in the UK, employing innovative turnkey solutions to ensure your data centre is ready for whatever the future brings.
We have a wealth of experience in the data centre industry, responsible for many multi-million pound data centre projects across the UK. When it comes to implementing the most up-to-date cooling systems and construction techniques, we’re the ones to ask.
Get in touch with our team today to discuss your plans.
