The non-profit organization The Green Grid has conducted a study of 115 data centers, and the findings, as reported in BusinessGreen.com, are pretty cool:
- Nearly 50% of the data centers surveyed now use so-called “economiser” natural air cooling units to cut energy consumption and save money
- A further 24% are considering using them soon
- Average savings reported with the use of natural cooling are 20% on energy costs and 7% on maintenance
Natural cooling technology, which replaces air conditioning with giant fans and associated strategies, used to be a niche suitable for data centers located in the world’s more frigid regions. But it’s now increasingly commonplace. And with 20% energy savings achievable, it’s not hard to see why.
“What we are witnessing is a technology that is maturing faster than previously thought,” said Mark Monroe, Executive Director of The Green Grid. “We now need to make sure that datacentre managers have the tools they need to understand how and what the best economiser options are for optimum deployment.”
He also pointed to a future in which locating data centers in colder climates will be front and center.
“The trend in the industry is to go to the chillerless datacentre, which means we don’t have any mechanical cooling,” said Mr. Monroe. “It’s a best practice that is five years out… but if you do that it means you’re going to do things like open the window and flood the datacentre with cold air and that means you need to be in a cold climate.”
Very cool, indeed.
