Green Grid Argues That Data Centers Can Lose the Chillers

Nerval's Lobster writes "The Green Grid, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making IT infrastructures and data centers more energy-efficient, is making the case that data center operators are operating their facilities in too conservative a fashion. Rather than rely on mechanical chillers, it argues in a new white paper (PDF), data centers can reduce power consumption via a higher inlet temperature of 20 degrees C. Green Grid originally recommended that data center operators build to the ASHRAE A2 specifications: 10 to 35 degrees C (dry-bulb temperature) and between 20 to 80 percent humidity. But the paper also presented data that a range of between 20 and 35 degrees C was acceptable. Data centers have traditionally included chillers, mechanical cooling devices designed to lower the inlet temperature. Cooling the air, according to what the paper originally called anecdotal evidence, lowered the number of server failures that a data center experienced each year. But chilling the air also added additional costs, and PUE numbers would go up as a result."

Silly Enviromentalist..

[Severus Snape]

Yes, it's generally in the nature of these companies to spend unneeded money. They hire people who's exact job is to make data centers' as efficient as possible. Even to the extent Facebook and others are open sourcing their information to try and get others involved to improve data center design. I say generally as I'm sure most seen the story on here recently over Microsoft wasting energy to meet a contract target, that however is a totally different kettle of fish.

Qui bono?

[J'raxis]

The board of directors [wikipedia.org] of the "Green Grid" is composed almost entirely of the companies that would benefit if data centers had to buy more computing hardware more frequently, rather than continued paying for cooling equipment.

Re:For electronic components, heat == death

[ShanghaiBill]

The article's central argument is that data centers can be run at higher temperatures. I'm pointing out that if you run your data center at higher temperatures to save on your energy costs, much or all of those savings could end up getting neutralized by premature equipment failure, and the cost of mitigating it.

Yet when Google analyzed data from 100,000 servers, they found failures were negatively correlated with temperature. As long as they kept the temp in spec, they had fewer hard errors at the high end of the operating temperature range. That is why they run "hot" data centers today.

I'll take Google's hard data over your gut feeling.