Johnston says that the biggest value driver of them all is climate change and carbon.
For some passive immersion cooling products, it is estimated 3 – 5% of the heat escapes from the immersion cooling unit into the room, therefore, for high-capacity rooms some air cooling will still be required.. With the trend of CHIP manufacturers ever increasing their compute capacity, supply temperatures of the chilled water system may be required to remain low whilst increasing the cooling capacity (increasing ΔT of the chilled water).This could see the emergence of two tiers of systems: high compute systems with high density at lower chilled water temperatures (at a higher ΔT) and lower compute systems (still high compared to today’s IT) with a lower density at higher chilled water temperatures enabling much more free cooling.. Alternatively, a liquid cooled rack with air heat rejection (on the back of the rack) can be installed to provide liquid cooling whilst maintaining the existing air-cooled system, but this is a less common approach.. Onward look to heat rejection.
In the realm of air-cooled data centres, the industry is increasingly gravitating toward to ASHRAE A1 allowable temperatures for data halls.However, there is little indication of a shift toward A2 or higher temperature ranges.Heat rejection systems, including mechanical cooling, have started to reach a plateau, with manufacturers making incremental enhancements to accommodate higher chilled water temperatures within the ASHRAE A1 range..
The next significant leap in the industry lies in the adoption of liquid cooling.Many larger data centre operators are now integrating liquid cooling solutions into their facilities.
However, the lack of a standardised design topology for liquid cooling systems and their various configurations, poses a challenge.
We may witness the emergence of two distinct data centre topologies: the energy-efficient approach versus the high-density model, or perhaps a hybrid combination of both.Global Energy & CO2 Status Report 2019: The latest trends in energy and emissions in 2018. http://web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/Articles/I/CombiningRenew/100PercentPaperAbstracts.pdf.
https://www.electricitymap.org/map.Lucid Catalyst (2020).
https://www.orano.group/en/unpacking-nuclear/all-about-the-ipcc-report-on-climate-change.Clean Energy Ministerial (2020),.
(Editor: Ultra Strollers)