Data centers have come a long way. And as data pile up and companies switch to cloud computing, the data center industry continues to grow.

With such large volumes of data, many data centers continue to pack cloud-computing power into smaller spaces. All this is ‌to centralize workload and accommodate powerful processing applications like AI.

This direct consequence is that individual racks consume more energy, which induces higher energy generation. In the long-haul, cooling systems must ensure operations run smoothly and efficiently without major backlogs.

Recently, power requirements per rack were well below 20 kilowatts (kW). Low power consumption allowed data centers' air cooling systems to run at stable operating temperatures. However, today’s high-performance racks can exceed the 20-30kW mark.

Advanced computing systems operating on high GPUs and CPUs than their previous counterparts have largely contributed to the higher power consumption. Even though some cooling systems can support racks exceeding the 20kW mark, they become inefficient after time, partly because of the high processing power required to run a rack consuming 30kW. Companies are switching to liquid cooling.

Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC)

Liquid cooling is not a new concept. Over the years, it has gained widespread adoption and is today accepted as the best alternative to cool High-performance Computing (HPC) systems. In addition, most enterprise-focused data centers today leverage liquid cooling to reduce OPEX and inefficiencies.

Businesses considering the liquid cooling need to assess their data center strategies and policies before diving headfirst into the DLC. Here are a few benefits your business stands to gain from DLC and how this will effectively refine your long-term computing journey.

Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Air cooling systems require immense power to operate. Liquid cooling uses warm water to cool servers, which increases energy efficiency and lowers consumption.

Enterprises can lower their operational facility costs with reduced power bills and maintenance. In addition, most DLC systems have an ROI of 12 months or fewer and can provide immense savings compared to the air cooling systems of previous generations.

Improved Performance

Operating system chips such as Nvidia, AMD, and Intel require modern cooling to operate efficiently without breakdown. Air cooling systems are prone to thermal breakdowns and shutdown when running these chips at full capacity, while DLC keeps systems running efficiently.

Increased Sustainability

There’s a huge push to make data centers more environmentally friendly as talks on climate change intensify. With this push, data centers need to strategize how they can best lower their carbon footprint and reduce their energy consumption.

Besides lowering energy consumption, liquid cooling plays a big role in providing a more efficient way to re-purpose captured heat. This is ‌possible because liquid-to-liquid heat transfer is efficient compared to air cooling.

Conclusion

As technological innovation grows, more and more liquid cooling methods are hitting the market as the data center industry continues to grow. As mentioned above, DLC stands to help enterprises realize reduced operations costs while contributing hugely to a greener future.