Data Centers Need Future-Proofed Cooling Solutions

Data centers are requiring more power, and this is not solely because they are being built larger than ever. The kilowatt-per-cabinet average is continuing to grow exponentially, and as a result, the data center industry has been turning to new solutions to keep these massive gigawatt facilities powered and running.  

The question now is: How can owners keep these gigawatt data centers cool? This is a significant issue that the majority of data center operators are struggling with. The key is to understand that there is no single solution for solving this problem, said Daniel Vazquez, account manager at the data center division of Airedale by Modine.

“Cooling always follows power, and as the power consumption increases, the cooling has to increase,” Vazquez said. 

Before the artificial intelligence boom, cooling standards for data centers had stayed constant for nearly 20 years, Vazquez said.

“The old solutions worked — until they didn’t,” he said. 

Today’s data centers are being constructed with densely packed server cabinets that can consume up to 360 kWs of energy, with plans for 600 to 1,000 kWs in the future. That’s up from the 30 kWs that were common several years ago and much higher than figures that were standard before that, Vazquez said.

With AI and graphics processing unit clusters, there are rows and rows of these high-kilowatt cabinets. The challenge is not only to design cooling systems that meet the immediate power load needs but also to make sure the infrastructure can scale to meet the ever-increasing power demands of the future. 

“The goal is to understand the direction the industry is going and to ensure the thermal management solution takes it into consideration,” he said. “It is difficult to hit a moving target, so the plan is to create an environment that can scale when and how it is needed.”

Vazquez said that hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft and Google usually own or lease entire facilities, and these companies plan upfront for the technological infrastructure they expect to put in place in the next few years. These plans provide a critical road map for cooling solutions providers. 

In contrast, colocation data centers might have as many as 90 individual customers in a single data hall, resulting in differences in kilowatt per cabinet and a murkier picture of what’s ahead, Vazquez said. 

“That is a challenge to plan for and manage,” he said. “But it is doable and there are solutions for it. Again, planning on scaling when needed is the best approach.”

Regardless of business model, all data center companies are looking for a return on investment, including on their cooling infrastructure spending, he said. 

“You cannot overbuild and hope you have a solution that will fit future requirements,” he said. “That could end up in a design that does not work or a significant waste of money.” 

The key is to figure out how to create a solution that can scale without installing equipment that will never be used and leaving proverbial money sitting in the maintenance yard or data center floor, Vazquez said. 

“We aim to meet the current requirements but allow for bandwidth to expand,” he said. 

To be sure they aren’t spending unnecessarily, Airedale by Modine has a catalog that allows customers to pick and choose cooling products off the shelf. But the company’s strength and value-add is its engineering team, Vazquez said.

“We aren’t selling products. We are selling solutions,” he said. “We can also design custom solutions for customers and have done that a number of times for some of our hyperscaler customers and some colocation customers that are looking for a solution that is not in a product catalog. Don’t get me wrong, our products have hundreds of different options, but sometimes special designs are requested.” 

He explained that the company’s engineers can work with clients to develop a solution that is right for their specific needs, which is often heavily influenced by where their center is located. 

“The solutions we are likely to propose for a data center located in the Northeast are different from those for one located in Texas,” Vazquez said. “We listen to which products the client is leaning towards, whether it's fan walls in a row,  cooling or heat exchangers, and so on, and we work with them to ensure the solution fits both their current needs and can scale well.”

He said the company’s engineering staff has a background in data centers — they know the product catalog, the functionalities, the strength of every system the firm has to offer, and they can customize almost anything to suit a client’s immediate and future plans.

“Our strength is our engineering team,” Vazquez said. “We don't just thrive in this environment — we shine in this environment. This is where our strength is.”  

The company provides end-to-end data center solutions that incorporate products, design, intelligent software and lifetime customer support. The solutions provide flexibility and reliability for mission-critical applications.

“Every challenge is also an opportunity,” Vazquez said. “With the industry changing fast, we have the privilege of working with our clients and learning from them to ensure their investments in cooling are keeping up but not overshooting their future needs.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Airedale by Modine and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.