Data centers are the backbone of the digital economy. Whether it be cloud computing, AI workloads, or data analytics, modern infrastructures often require a lot of computing power. And with more power comes more heat, which has presented one of the largest conundrums for IT managers: cooling.
Liquid cooling and air cooling are the most-used types of cooling. Both have pros and cons and decisions on which method is best for the workloads organizations are running can be a challenge for enterprises.
In this blog, we look at air cooling vs liquid cooling in Npod data centers; the efficiencies, costs, and scalability of both cooling types, and hopefully help you decide on the right method for your company.
Why Data Center Cooling Matters
Getting cooling right increasingly is about more than just avoiding overheating servers as it has a direct impact on:
- Performance: Stable temperatures allow servers to run closer to optimal performance.
- Cost of Energy: Energy cooling can consume up to 40% of the total energy in a Npod data center.
- Hardware Wear & Life: Cooling systems help prevent wear and falls in hardware failure and decreasing efficiency
- Sustainability: With energy costs going up and climate change at the front forefront of consumers and shareholder expectations; effective cooling systems lower an organization’s carbon footprint.
Choosing to use liquid cooling or to use air cooling is therefore a key strategic decision of any enterprise operating data centers at scale.
What is Air Cooling in Data Centers?
Air cooling is the earliest form of cooling for IT equipment. The cooling method begins with cold air through fans and ducts, and CRAC (computer room air conditioning) units to cooling air across a number of racks of servers.
Key Basic Characteristics of Air-Cooling
- Air-Cooling works by removing heat via air movement.
- Cold/hot aisle layouts maximize the potential for air cooling.
- Air-cooling is relatively simple to implement and support.
Benefits of Air-Cooling
- Generally lower associated initial costs versus liquid cooling.
- Common place in industry for standard use.
- Commonly low specialty handling and management. Doesn’t require additional specialty equipment as extensively.
Limits of Air-Cooling
- Limits of air-cooling become evident in workloads with workloads with increasing density (AI, HPC, Big Data).
- Air cooling requires a very large footprint for space due to airflow.
- Air-cooling has higher future energy costs.
Most small to medium data rooms still utilize air-cooling, although it is dubious whether this will continue as workloads become denser, and density leads to rectifiable limitations.
Read About : Cloud Storage
What is Liquid Cooling in Data Centers?
Liquid cooling utilizes water or specific coolants to absorb and transfer heat away from IT equipment. Liquid coolant has a much higher thermal capacity than air which allows it to absorb heat more effectively.
Liquid cooling comes in three main forms:
- Direct-to-Chip Cooling – coolant travels through pipes that connect to cool plates on CPUs/GPUs.
- Immersion Cooling – servers are submerged in a low-volatility and non-conductive liquid.
- Rear Door Heat Exchangers – the liquid absorbs the heat from the IT equipment at the back of racks.
The advantages of using liquid cooling are:
- Liquid cooling is a very efficient method of cooling higher-density workloads.
- It uses less overall energy than air cooling.
- It allows for smaller micro data center designs (edge, micro data centers).
- The stability of the operating temperature prolongs the usable life of equipment.
The disadvantages of liquid cooling are:
- It has a greater upfront cost to deploy.
- It needs specialized infrastructure and monitoring.
- Technicians must be trained to maintain liquid cooled equipment.
With an increasing use of AI and HPC, hyperscalers and enterprise operators apply liquid cooling in Npod Micro data centers more frequently.
Liquid Cooling vs Air Cooling: A Direct Comparison
In short:
- Air cooling is cost-effective for smaller facilities or legacy systems.
- Liquid cooling is the future for enterprises dealing with AI, machine learning, and high-performance computing.
Future of Data Center Cooling
By 2025 and beyond, the trend is clear — with workloads demanding higher power density, liquid cooling will become more prevalent as hyperscalers increasingly test or deploy liquid cooling technologies to meet sustainability and performance targets, (Google, Microsoft, AWS.) At the same time, air cooling will not become extinct. Many small and medium data centers will continue to utilize air cooling because of cost and ease of implementation. Hybrid cooling approaches — combining air cooling with liquid cooling — may become the norm.
Know More About : Cooling System
Which Cooling is Right for Your Data Center?
When it comes to the Air Cooling Vs Liquid Cooling decision, consider your own individual needs:
- Low to medium density workloads, and no budget → Air Cooling is all you need.
- AI, HPC, and/or large-scale enterprise workloads that require significant power → Liquid Cooling is the answer.
- If you want to future-proof your cooling solution → start with hybrid solutions.
Conclusion
Air cooling and liquid cooling both have their place in data centers. Air cooling can accommodate typical workloads at a low cost and with ease and reliability. Liquid cooling, meanwhile, is prevalent for enterprises that are looking to maximize performance.
With an emphasis on sustainability and efficient designs, we can expect that liquid cooling data centers may become predominant in the future — but a sizeable portion of operators may continue utilizing air systems for legacy or more cost-sensitive workloads.
If your organization is assessing cooling strategies, consider your workloads, your scalability, and long-term total cost of ownership for ongoing planning and decision making.
