Google’s Innovative Data Center Cooling Techniques

In years gone by, data centers kept temperatures at 68 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit and narrow humidity ranges. According to a recent article in CIO.com, the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the organization that issues de facto standards for data center climate, has moved the top recommended temperature range to 80.6° F and increased the peak humidity threshold as well.

This shift to higher temperatures and humidity levels has pushed manufacturers to expand the operating climate range of their equipment. It’s also made data center managers think about employing innovative cooling methods, such as using outside air, water and evaporative techniques.

Google drives down the cost and environmental impact of running data centers by designing and building its own facilities. The company employs “free-cooling” techniques like using outside air or reused water for cooling. Google claims its data centers use 50 percent less energy than the typical data center and are among the most efficient in the world.

Google’s Hamina, Finland, data center is one of the most advanced and efficient in its fleet of data centers. It uses raw seawater from the Gulf of Finland to help cool the data center. The seawater is pumped through heat exchangers and then Google uses direct exchange through those heat exchangers to dissipate the server load heat from the data center.

The heated seawater is returned to a “tempering building” and mixed with fresh seawater to cool it to a temperature similar to the inlet temperature. The cooled water is then released back into the Gulf, minimizing any environmental impact. There is no compressor or refrigerant-based cooling used at the data center.

This is a great example of using innovative cooling techniques to drive down the cost and environmental impact of running data centers. What other cooling techniques have you heard of or used in your data center?

- See more at: http://www.strategicdatacenter.com/52/google%E2%80%99s-innovative-data-center-cooling-techniques#sthash.Dg21mrQv.dpuf