Latin America. Since the beginning of 2024, with the introduction of a powerful new generation of processors, the world has been looking for ways to increase productivity with accelerated computing, including artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI (genAI), high-performance computing (HPC), machine learning (ML), and deep learning.
The graphics processing units (GPUs) that make these advancements possible require a significant amount of power to operate, resulting in an increase in power density and heat production. AI rack densification and the rise of these high-density applications require higher-capacity, energy-efficient cooling systems to be cost-effective.
The high cost of electricity in Latin America has driven the use of technological alternatives to optimize and reduce energy consumption in data centers. Since HVAC is the second largest consumer of energy in a data center, accounting for approximately 40% of total consumption, HVAC technology has become a key target for energy efficiency innovation.
Liquid cooling is an optimal solution for blasting the heat generated by high-density applications. This technology improves thermal management compared to traditional air cooling systems, resulting in reduced energy costs, lower load, and more capacity available in electrical systems.
Ingenium, a company with more than 17 years of experience in the design, construction and operation of data centers, says that liquid cooling offers a competitive advantage in an increasingly environmentally conscious market. According to Juan Carlos Londoño, pre-sales director at Ingenium, "this increased efficiency is useful in high-density environments because liquid cooling systems can operate at higher temperatures, helping data center operators and owners reduce operating costs and meet their goals for environmental responsibility and efficiency in data management."
Implementing Liquid Cooling
Revenue from liquid cooling technologies for data centers is estimated to exceed $4.8 billion in the period from 2024 to 2028, according to Dell'Oro. The choice of the right liquid cooling method will depend on the specific requirements of each application.
Below are the three main liquid cooling options and how each can be beneficial depending on a data center's specific needs and circumstances.
Direct-to-chip liquid cooling: An option with greater energy efficiency and scalability in the future. This cooling solution targets the heat-generating components inside servers, such as CPUs and GPUs, to blast heat more efficiently than traditional air-cooling systems. This translates into better thermal transfer and lower power consumption in data centers. It is an ideal solution for intensive workloads, typical of high-density applications that require advanced processing and cooling capabilities.
Fabio Olivetti, manager of chilled water and high-density solutions for Vertiv LATAM, explained that the application of this system allows mission-critical liquid coolers to operate mainly in free cooling mode, which significantly reduces electricity consumption. This is achieved by operating the chillers at higher temperatures in the water supply, which also leads to cost savings.
Liquid immersion cooling: An efficient, space-saving solution ideal for small, very high-density data centers, especially in non-traditional or space-constrained environments. In this approach, servers are immersed in a tank filled with a thermally conductive liquid, allowing for effective heat dissipation.
Backdoor Heat Exchangers: Often recommended for data centers that already have a chilled water infrastructure in place, especially when a quick, easy-to-install cooling solution is needed for mixed-density environments. This method replaces the traditional server rack backdoor with a heat exchanger that transfers heat to the water. Some tailgate heat exchangers can use existing chilled water infrastructure, making them a cost-effective option.
In certain weather conditions, data centers can benefit from lower external temperatures to optimize power consumption. Depending on the location, this allows them to operate in "free cooling" mode for about 75% of the year. According to Fabio Olivetti, "Since approximately 80% of cooling is managed with liquid, some components can operate with lower airflow and at a slightly higher temperature than the rest of the equipment. This is because not all components need to be cooled with the same precision as servers."
Developing a cooling strategy and implementing liquid cooling solutions in greenfield data centers offer more alternatives and greater scalability than modernizing an existing data center. In both greenfield and brownfield deployments, it is key to collaborate with specialized consultants, such as Ingenium, and with leading manufacturers, such as Vertiv, to find the best solution aligned with business objectives while optimizing their companies' resources, promoting sustainability.
