Compelling Breakthroughs in Data Center Energy Efficiency
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Data center energy efficiency has been a much-discussed topic lately, especially as more evidence emerges about how many resources these facilities use. Yet, even as that aspect becomes clearer, modern society is already so dependent on the technologies that use data centers to work. Going back to life without them is impossible, so people must figure out the best ways to use them responsibly.
From a sustainability point of view, that means building new data centers that are as eco-friendly as possible and upgrading the existing ones to meet those ideals when possible. Achieving these ambitious aims requires people to think outside the box and work together to develop creative, practical solutions. What have they tried and achieved so far?
Making Equipment Compatible With Warmer Temperatures
Most discussions around data center energy efficiency involve keeping the environment sufficiently cool so that the specialty equipment inside will continue to perform optimally without overheating.
However, a group attempted a different approach that may surprise people. They tried to make data centers more efficient by operating them at higher temperatures. More specifically, their approach was redesigning the servers to tolerate the change in surroundings.
The conventional approach to cooling relies on energy-intensive chillers that work similarly to air conditioners. This team prioritized free cooling, which uses ambient air to achieve the desired effects while using much less energy. It also allows data centers to operate at significantly higher temperatures than usual. However, the people working on this project wanted to know just how much warmer the facilities had to be to still get the desired results.
They built advanced models to simulate how data centers would operate under different climate-related conditions. The results showed facilities using free cooling were most energy- efficient at 105°F. That allowed the data centers to save 13%-56% more energy than those operated at 71.6°F.
Although the potential energy saved represents a fairly wide range, even the results at the lower end are substantial enough to make this operational change worth pursuing. Additionally, further experiments suggested data center managers may not even need to raise the temperature so much to get results. Those specifics varied based on the location’s typical temperature and humidity.
The researchers clarified that free cooling was only a feasible switch if it allowed the servers to continue operating reliably and at the same computational efficiency as before. Additionally, it is important to check that the servers’ built-in cooling fans do not increase their energy consumption.
Designing a Two-Phase Cooling System
Even though the above example shows that meeting data center energy efficiency goals can involve more than cooling, many people are understandably still looking for potential improvements involving the measures taken to keep the facilities from getting too hot.
One example comes from a team that received $1.65 million to develop an innovative phase-change system for cooling. This two-phase solution can effectively cool server chips passively, meaning that during periods requiring less intensive cooling, it can operate without consuming energy. Additionally, even with the system’s active mode enabled, it uses a mechanical pump that only consumes a tiny amount of energy.
Although this effort is in the early stages, tests showed the thoughtfully designed system could significantly reduce the energy required to keep data center equipment cool. The team is also making it as user-friendly as possible during the fabrication phase, ensuring it allows users to easily connect or disconnect it when working between server racks.
How long might it be before this innovation is commercially available? The group hopes the milestone will occur in the coming decade, which could be right when the most computing-intensive AI applications are widely available and used.
It is important to start working out these energy-efficient options now, though. They take time and problem-solving skills to create, and what people learn through this project and others like it will undoubtedly shape future decisions and provide valuable inspiration. These discoveries could even improve other types of excessive resource usage. Estimates suggest data centers consume 400 gallons of water daily, showing room for improvement.
Creating an Electricity-Free Waste Heat Pipe
Waste heat pipes have become important parts of data center infrastructure, although their applications also span more broadly to include electric vehicles, spaceflight and more. Japanese researchers made headlines in August 2024 when they developed the world’s largest loop heat pipe (LHP). Besides its record-setting size, this creation can move up to 12 kilowatts of heat without electricity.
LHPs need a working fluid and a porous wick. They can then efficiently transport heat efficiently over long distances. The wick uses capillary action to pull the fluid to the surface. Then, that fluid absorbs heat and turns it into a vapor in response to heat applied to an evaporator. The vapor moves to a condenser, releases the heat there and condenses back into a liquid. Next, that liquid goes back to a compensation chamber to touch the wick again and repeat the cooling process perpetually.
This team also tweaked their LHP in various ways to optimize the results. For example, they made the wick thinner, wider and longer while keeping its high-quality porosity. Additionally, they found that narrowing the channels that the vapor used to escape from the evaporator and adding side channels improved the pipe’s heat transfer capabilities.
Additionally, this LHP has a relatively large wick, and the quality usually goes down as the size increases. However, those strategic design decisions maintained the quality to keep it similar to that of smaller ones. The group also designed the wick with cores to reduce its thickness. That decision reduced operating temperatures and pressure drops.
All these precise choices paid off because the LHP’s heat transfer efficiency was more than four times that of its existing counterparts. Tests also showed it could transfer waste heat 2.5 meters without power, setting a record.
Bringing Remarkable Improvements in Data Center Energy Efficiency
These examples show that people are working together to achieve notable things that could cause future data centers to be much more energy-efficient than the ones operating now. Even if those involved eventually learn that some of their efforts are not commercially viable, they’ll have learned things in the process that inform other attempts.
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About the author
Steve Russell
Steve is the Managing Editor of Environment.co and regularly contributes articles related to wildlife, biodiversity, and recycling. His passions include wildlife photography and bird watching.