The analyst firm’s Chilling Out: Cooling Systems for Data Centres report suggests that with increased high-intensity workloads generating more heat than ever, operators need to adopt effective cool strategies to maintain performance, stability, and equipment lifespan.
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“Cooling load alone accounts for up to 40% of a data centre's energy consumption,” said Rithika Thomas, senior analyst for sustainable technologies at ABI Research. “Effective cooling strategies demand a holistic, technology-agnostic approach to optimise Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE), and thermal management and reduce operating costs.”
ABI research suggested that in 2023, data centre operators consumed 300 Terawatt hours (TWh) of energy for cooling alone, a figure projected to increase threefold by 2030, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15%.
With ABI suggesting the number of global data centres to more than double by 2030, operators face significant challenges in powering and cooling new and existing data infrastructure.
Liquid cooling is becoming an increasingly popular method for energy control among operators, with the likes of Equinix, Aruba, and Digital Realty adopting liquid cooling solutions to keep their servers cool.
Operators are not restricting themselves to one single cooling method, however, as ABI’s report suggests data centre sites are increasingly adopting hybrid and modular cooling technologies to drive efficiency.
The report highlights solutions from companies like Schneider Electric, which plans to acquire the cooling solution provider Motivair, and Carrier Global Corp, both of which are helping data centres beat the heat effectively.
“Cooling costs are a significant overhead cost operators must face,” Thomas said. “A 'one size fits all' approach fails to factor in the impact of size, location, infrastructure needs, cost, local regulations, and workloads, all vital to design an efficient cooling solution.
“With energy-intensive AI data centres, operators are under growing regulatory pressure to adopt responsible computing practices, assess environmental impact, and leverage renewable energy”
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