Posted by William Vander Plaats on Thu, Dec 24, 2009 @ 01:09 PM
Data centers (also known as server farms) are an integral component of the new digital economy. Whether they contain servers or telecommunications equipment or other computer systems, they usually include redundant or backup power supplies and advanced environmental controls. 
Since overheating this equipment often results in extensive damage, the cooling techniques and equipment selected must be effective and dependable.
Since the dawn of the computer age and the first mainframes, this cooling was primarily accomplished by air cooling methods. Plumbing for liquid-based systems was deemed too expensive, and air cooling was a familiar method for the companies needing computer room cooling. But the advantages of liquid cooling have changed the trend back in its favor.
One recent poll by searchdatacenter.com indicated that when asked to name a cooling method of choice for data centers, approximately 80% of respondents selected some sort of liquid cooling. Benefits of liquid cooling in data centers include:
- Better efficiencies (which reduce energy usage)
- Quieter operation
Respected industry sources such as Processor.com support claims that liquid cooling is as much as 700% more effective than air when cooling data center components. Proprietary equipment such as IBM's Rear Door Heat eXchanger and Emerson Liebert's XD system illustrate the current thinking that there are better ways to both (a) keep the equipment cool and (b) maintain environment cleanliness while (c) minimizing energy usage.
Water Usage Concerns and the Role of Filtration
As the movement towards liquid cooling systems grows, so does the concern about water usage. An enormous amount of water is needed to cool high-density computing server farms. A typical 15-megawatt data center can use up to 360,000 gallons of water a day, according to James Hamilton, a data center designer, as quoted at DataCenterKnowledge.com.
There are many liquid cooling solutions for data centers, including chilled water-based computer room air conditioners (CRAC). In every case, keeping the liquid free of contaminants maintains a clean environment and also keeps all cooling system components operating at highest efficiency. Some systems use the existing building chilled water supply as the cooling source. And heat exchangers and cooling towers are typically part of that supply system. The cooling towers cool the hot waste water from the data center and remove the heat through evaporation. Most of the water that remains is returned to the data center cooling system, while some is drained ("blowdown") to remove any sediment or dirt in the system.
Keeping the cooling water CLEAN minimizes blowdown and reduces water usage.
How much water and energy would be saved in YOUR facility if proper filtration was installed? There are many ways to be more GREEN in the data center, and proper filtration of cooling water should be on your list. DOWNLOAD our Water and Energy Savings Spreadsheet Calculator to determine how filtration might help your data center operate more efficiently AND reduce the risk of Legionella AND save water and energy .