{"id":25439,"date":"2024-09-10T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-10T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.compassdatacenters.com\/5-tips-to-reduce-digital-clutter\/"},"modified":"2025-03-13T14:56:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T19:56:59","slug":"data-center-cooling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.compassdatacenters.com\/es\/data-center-cooling\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Center Cooling: From Inception to New Technologies\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t
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What Is Data Center Cooling?  <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Data centers use a significant amount of energy to power servers, and those servers generate a lot of heat. All that heat can raise the temperature of hardware in data centers to a point where equipment could be damaged or unsafe. That\u2019s why data centers have cooling systems that keep hardware at a temperature that allows it to run safely and efficiently.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Thermal Guidelines 2015<\/a> recommended an equipment environment of 18 to 27C (~64 to 80F) for all classes of data center equipment, and different allowable range for each class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Data Center Cooling Matters <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Data center cooling is one of the most important areas of innovation for data centers. A data center\u2019s ability to control heat impacts its tier, a classification created by The Uptime Institute<\/a> that evaluates the center\u2019s reliability and ability to meet businesses\u2019 needs. Data center computer systems and IT hardware run 24\/7 to ensure the servers behind our digital economy are continuously available. Maintaining reliability and efficiency is of the utmost importance.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Powering always-on data centers cool can come at significant energy costs. According to an analysis of energy company earnings calls<\/a>, a large data center requires the same amount of electricity as 750,000 homes. Since cooling systems use an estimated 50% of a data center\u2019s power<\/a>, an efficient system can have a massive impact on the overall cost to run a data center, and its environmental footprint.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data Center Cooling Systems <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Data center operators have achieved significant improvements in the energy efficiency of cooling systems over the past 50 years. Let\u2019s break down the history of data center cooling, and how it has evolved.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Early Days of Data Center Cooling <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From the 1970s to 2000, most data centers were cooled by pressurized air. Raised floor systems delivered cold air from a computer room air conditioner (CRAC) or computer room air handler (CRAH). The floors\u2019 perforated tiles allowed cold air to enter the main floor through a pressurized space below. The cool air mixed with the hot air in the room until the space reached the required temperature and humidity – like how a room in a house or office is cooled by air conditioning. After the hardware in the room heats up the air, the air would return to the pressurized space below to be cooled again.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raised floor systems are still used by some data centers today, but they are expensive, inefficient and tend to cool spaces unevenly. As data centers grew and output in the 2000s, operators had to consider how increasing loads were impacting cooling systems\u2019 performance<\/a>. It was clear that over time, innovation was needed to transform cooling systems and make them more efficient.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evolution of Cooling Technologies <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the 2000s, data center cooling evolved from basic air conditioning to more sophisticated systems. Hot and cold aisle containment, strategically organizes server racks and other hardware in a data center in alternating rows. In this configuration, cold air comes from one direction and hot air faces the other direction. Containment systems keep the hot and cold aisles separated and control air pressure. This method of cooling is more energy-efficient than raised floor systems and allows for more consistency in temperature.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air cooling is reliable, easy to implement and used by many data centers today. However, it still uses a significant amount of energy \u2013 especially in hot climates. Additionally, growing AI workloads<\/a> are pushing air cooling systems to the brink, forcing data centers to innovate further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern Cooling Technologies <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As computing densities have increased with processing-intensive applications, like AI training, racks in data centers are generating more heat. This requires advanced cooling systems,<\/s>  <\/s>to avoid equipment failure and safety issues.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facing the limitations of air-cooling systems, data center developers have been exploring new methods to make cooling systems even more efficient. This has led to a transition  <\/s>to more advanced thermal management techniques, like evaporative cooling and liquid cooling.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a breakdown of modern cooling systems data centers are adopting today: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evaporative Cooling <\/em> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Evaporative cooling, sometimes called adiabatic cooling, uses evaporation to cool the air in a data center. Outside air draws through wet cooling pads, and as the water evaporates, the heat in the air is absorbed, lowering the temperature. This approach uses less energy than a mechanical air conditioner.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immersion Cooling<\/em> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

With immersion cooling, hardware is submerged in a dielectric fluid that absorbs its heat without conducting electricity. Immersion cooling is more efficient than air cooling because liquid absorbs more heat than air does. Heat is then circulated through heat exchangers. A simple way to think about it is to imagine jumping into a swimming pool after going for a run on a hot day. You\u2019re going to cool down much faster than if you stood in front of a fan.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two types of immersion cooling: single-phase and two-phase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n