Energy efficient cooling method for servers

Advancement in computer technology might have cut down processing costs, but power bills are still high and a cause of concern. Servers still generate lot of heat and a fortune is spent cooling them. Traditionally, air conditioners blow chilled air to cool servers. By using a more energy efficient cooling method, IT managers can realize cost savings.

Liquid cooling seems to be a viable alternative and even Dell has joined the bandwagon. Dell has struck a deal with a component and industrial equipment maker Emerson Network Power to sell advanced cooling systems and services to data center owners.

Liebert XD, the cooling technology from Emerson, will use refrigerant-filled pipes that snake around the server racks — cooling coils are placed as close as possible to the computers for greater efficiency — and absorb the heat coming off them. “The liquid system cuts the cooling power load by about 30 to 50 percent as compared with other types of cooling systems,” says Fred Stack, vice-president of marketing for Emerson.

IBM and Hewlett-Packard have similar liquid cooling systems, but both companies are using water rather than a refrigerant.