While markets across every asset class, from office to industrial, have risen and fallen over the past decade, demand for data centers has remained robust.
According to Goldman Sachs Research, data center electricity demand is expected to increase by 160% by 2030, a staggering figure for an industry that already consumes 1% to 2% of the world’s total electricity.
As pressures on data centers increase, so does the pressure on data center owners who are responsible for keeping their facilities up and running in the face of extraordinary demand. Cooling plays a key role in achieving this goal.
“We’re really in a brave new world when it comes to cooling,” says Dave Meadows, technical director at Stulz USA, a provider of cooling and humidity control solutions for data centers. “Keeping data centers cool has always been a critical part of running a facility, but it’s more important than ever now with the increasing pressure for densification.”
If a data center overheats, the results can be catastrophic. Biznow We’ll be discussing the importance of data center cooling at the National DICE Data Center Management, Operations and Cooling — West Coast event on September 4. Register here.
Meadows will appear on a panel on the role of effective cooling in high performance computing where he and his industry colleagues will discuss how effective cooling plays a key role in helping the data center industry keep up with growing demands.
Biznow We spoke with Meadows to learn more about the cooling needs of modern data centers and where he sees the industry heading next.
Increased density means increased cooling challenges
Meadows said cooling was already a challenge when data centers had rack watt densities of 10 to 15 kilowatts per rack. Now, individual chip wattage and rack density are rising, forcing operators to pump more air into the racks. That’s driving a shift to liquid-based cooling methods, such as systems that run liquid directly over the chips or immersion cooling systems, he said.
“This situation is forcing us to adopt new technologies, and although we consider ourselves a cutting-edge industry, we tend to be very risk averse,” Meadows says. “Without major changes in the way data centers are designed and operated, we’re not going to see data center owners take some risks and adopt these new cooling strategies.”
Stulz says he was an early hopper on the liquid-to-chip cooling bandwagon, investing in the company that developed the technology in 2015. Through that relationship, Stulz learned there was no need to be afraid of liquid cooling because the air conditioning company had all the tools and expertise needed to bring it to its data center customers, Meadows said.
“This opens up even more opportunities for us,” he said. “At Stulz, we’ll offer everything from external heat removal systems for liquid-to-chip cooling and immersion cooling from behind the rack, to traditional air coolers, as the needs of data centers change.”
Demand for electricity continues to grow, and the supply chain must grow with it.
As for what’s next for the data center industry over the next five years or so, Meadows said he believes demand for electricity will continue to grow, citing strong sales numbers from chip makers.
“We don’t see any signs of a bubble,” he said. “At some point we might plateau if some disruptive technology develops on the server side, but that doesn’t exist right now. We believe the data center market is generally healthy and will see continued growth.”
As a caution, Meadows said that as the industry evolves, data center professionals need to pay attention to the supply chain and how that affects its growth, not just the material side of the supply chain but the human side of it.
“We need more electricians, more carpenters, more skilled laborers to keep the industry growing overall,” he said. “We need to reach out to our communities, trade schools, high schools and educate them about this huge, growing industry that needs the next generation of workers.”
Join us to hear more from Mr. Meadows. Bizknows National DICE Data Center Management, Operations & Cooling — West Coast Event, September 4th.
This article is a collaboration between Stulz USA and Studio B. Bisnow News staff was not involved in the production of this content.
Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, contact us at studio@bisnow.com.
