GIGABYTE has confirmed its participation in a proof of concept for immersion data center cooling, a modality that has been adopted by KDDI and which seeks to demonstrate that this type of data center cooling solution is not only perfectly viablebut they can also be beneficial for the environment.
This alliance between both companies could have a great impact on the cooling of data centers, and on their sustainability, since it allows them to offer high performance, that is, a high cooling capacity, while reducing the environmental impact. GIGABYTE had already been following immersion cooling for the last ten years, so in the end this is a completely natural move.
The power of data centers is increasing. This is a major challenge in terms of cooling, and also energy efficiency. According to a study, using air-cooled systems it is possible to achieve an efficiency in terms of power consumption of 1.7, according to the PUE scale, while with an immersion cooling system that efficiency goes up to 1.2 or 1.3, which means that it’s possible reduce consumption between 30% and 50%.
It is clear that immersion cooling offers important advantages. GIGABYTE has experience in this field, in fact it has recently started to test this type of cooling solutions, and expects to obtain very attractive results in terms of consumption. We don’t have hard data yet, but the pilot program the company has started should help you reduce consumption by up to 400 million kWh per year by 2030.
The servers sold by GIGABYTE can be modified easily, to meet the necessary requirements to be able to use immersion cooling solutions. The enormous reduction in consumption that we have referred to is achieved because, thanks to immersion, it is possible to dispense with the active cooling units that work to keep data center temperatures under control.
In immersion cooling, what is done is direct immersion of server hardware in a non-conductive fluid. The heat generated by the electronic components is transferred directly to the fluid, which reduces the need to use fans and other cooling materials, such as fans, for example. By reducing the number of active elements in the cooling system, efficiency is improved and energy consumption is reduced.
