VERTIV
The role of chilled water cooling in supporting AI-driven and high-density data centres With AI placing greater demands on data centres, how they are cooled is of critical importance, and chilled water technology can provide an efficient solution as George Hannah, senior global director for chilled water systems at Vertiv, explains.
The data centre industry is undergoing rapid evolution. As artificial intelligence (AI) adoption accelerates and workloads intensify, partners are being tasked with helping data centres to navigate a complex and changing landscape and for channel players, cooling should be a critical focus. The demands of hybrid liquid and air cooling environments, densification and sustainability goals are forcing a rethink of traditional cooling strategies, creating challenges and opportunities for solution providers. At the forefront of these changes is chilled water technology. These are versatile and efficient solutions that are transforming how data centres manage their cooling needs. For channel businesses, embracing and supporting this transition presents an opportunity to provide more innovative and future-proof solutions to their customers. Why chilled water cooling matters AI applications are now central to many organisations’ digital transformation strategies. These applications demand significant computational power, generating far greater heat than traditional workloads. At the same time, data centres are densifying, with operators packing more computing power into less space. This creates substantial thermal management challenges that air cooling systems alone cannot address.
The opportunity lies in enabling customers to implement scalable, efficient cooling solutions that can handle these demands. Chilled water systems are particularly attractive because they support air and liquid cooling strategies, providing flexibility in hybrid environments. This adaptability allows partners to position chilled water as a long-term, future-ready solution that addresses the unique demands of modern data centres. Addressing hybrid environments and unpredictable workloads Hybrid data centres, which blend traditional IT infrastructure with AI and high-performance computing, are now the norm. These facilities are characterised by their complexity, with workloads fluctuating in intensity and generating unpredictable heat loads. Chilled water systems are well-suited to these environments because of their ability to integrate seamlessly with diverse cooling strategies. They provide the foundation for hybrid cooling setups that combine air and liquid cooling methods, enabling optimal performance across varying workloads. For any players in this market, this versatility allows them to offer tailored solutions that meet the specific needs of their customers while enabling investments to be future ready.
George Hannah senior global director, chilled water systems
vertiv.com
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