Data Center

5 Questions to Ask About Liquid Cooling Technologies

With growing adoption of artificial intelligence and the increasing probability of weather-related disasters, keeping data centers cool is becoming more critical for healthcare organizations.

Karli Shields

Karli Shields is a marketing manager at AHEAD.

As healthcare organizations continue to adopt artificial intelligence to increase staff productivity and to improve clinical workflows, patient experiences and health outcomes, more strain will be put on data centers. To accommodate this trend as well as the rise in extreme weather events, healthcare organizations need a modern approach to cooling.

Traditional data centers relied on air-based cooling. For AI, experts say that organizations will likely need to upgrade to a liquid cooling system. Here are five questions to ask about liquid cooling technologies:

1. How Does Liquid Cooling Work?

Unlike air cooling, which chills entire rooms, liquid cooling can be installed on specific devices that need it most. It requires knowledge of both cooling and IT equipment, making it not as common as air cooling.

2. When Is Liquid Cooling Best?

Liquid cooling has gained traction because traditional cooling doesn’t provide enough support for AI and high-performance computing. It has proved to be more efficient than air cooling systems in reducing the heat from IT equipment.

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3. What Kind of Technology Is Involved?

In immersion cooling, IT equipment is fully submerged in a liquid dielectric with no conductivity. The fluid absorbs the heat emitted by the device, turns it into vapor and condenses it to cool down the device.

4. Are There Other Technologies to Consider?

With direct-to-chip liquid cooling, flexible tubes bring nonflammable dielectric fluid directly to the chip or component that’s generating the most heat. The fluid turns into vapor, siphoning the heat away from the equipment through the same tube.

5. How Much Does Liquid Cooling Cost?

Unless you’re installing a data center in a new building, it can be expensive. Plumbing must be added to server racks along with other liquid cooling–specific construction.

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