SERVERS THAT HEAT A SWIMMING POOL
There are few things more power-hungry than data centres, and their power consumption is set to quadruple by 2030, according to Lenovo.
More than 30% of a regular server’s energy is devoted to the cooling fans, which is why Lenovo is continuing to develop its Neptune water-cooling tech, a far more energy-efficient way to keep servers from cooking.
There are two types of watercooled server in Lenovo’s lineup. There are fixed-loop systems, where the same water is cycled around the server and passed through a radiator, cooling the server much like a liquid-cooled PC.
Then there are open systems, where water is pumped around the entire rack, with cold water entering the system and warm water coming out. It’s what happens to that expelled warm water that helps to keep the system more energy efficient. In some instances, it’s used to heat facilities or provide warm water for taps and showers. One company is experimenting with using the hot water from its server stack to heat a swimming pool, according to Patrick Moakley, director of marketing for HPC and AI at Lenovo.
Water-cooled servers do come with some drawbacks. They are typically around 10% more expensive than fan-cooled systems, according to Moakley, although he claims companies will recoup that investment with savings on their energy bills within 12-18 months. The water cooling is often more effective than fans, too, so processors can be clocked to higher speeds. Both Intel and AMD now have water-cooled-only SKUs, according to Moakley, because fans aren’t capable of keeping the chips cool enough.