DATA CENTRE COOLING
Cool runnings With AI putting more pressure on data centres than ever, the issue of how these are cooled is also important – and this can create problems for businesses, which resellers need to be aware of.
The growth of AI is revolutionising how businesses work, but it requires a huge amount of computing power to do this. This, in turn, is putting pressure on data centres and means they are generating more heat than ever and how they are cooled needs to be addressed to ensure efficiency and maximum uptime. Tim Mitchell from Klima-Therm says that AI is fundamentally changing the landscape for data centres. “Unlike traditional workloads, AI processing is incredibly energy-intensive and pushes servers to run at much higher power densities,” he explains. “The International Energy Agency predicts global electricity use from data centres will more than double to around 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, with AI being one of the biggest drivers. “Right now, AI workloads already account for about 20% of global data centre electricity use, and in some scenarios could reach almost 50% by 2025. That kind of growth puts immense pressure on facilities to maintain uptime while dealing with unprecedented levels of heat output.”
Jeremy Isaacs, sales director – Infrastructure, Cloud & EUC, Ricoh UK, agrees that the growth of large language models and generative AI is driving unprecedented demands on computing power, storage and networks, putting data centres under immense pressure. “This surge in demand has meant that power and heat production have become the limiting factors,” he says. “At current growth rates, AI technology could drive demand beyond grid capacity within the decade, creating not only operational risks but also fundamental questions around sustainability. The recently signed technology prosperity deal highlights how public and private sectors are beginning to align on this challenge, seeking to balance innovation with resilience, sustainability and equitable access to the digital economy. “Only through innovation, smarter infrastructure, efficient design and sustainable approaches will organisations be able to unlock the full potential of AI while staying ahead of these pressures.” VimalRaj Sampathkumar, UK technical
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At current growth rates, AI technology could drive demand beyond grid capacity within the decade, creating not only operational risks but also fundamental questions around sustainability.
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