Unless you have a sufficient knowledge about computer cooling techniques, the very mention of using water for cooling computers seems absurd and funny. But it is not a joke for this is a trend in electronic cooling that will grow particularly as higher density data centers are being developed and require a more efficient means of cooling. Of course for those of you who have been around long enough remember the days of water cooled mainframes.

For the new guys, you likely jumped out of your seats because till now we have been taught that water is one of the worst enemies of electronic equipments and water is the last thing which should be used on a fire involving electrical or electronic components. So have the laws of physics changed recently or there is something else behind this theory, just find out below.

Thankfully for all of us, who spend years in schools and colleges learning science, the laws of physics are still the same but the only difference is that nowadays water is being increasingly used to cool computers, servers and electronic equipment. Nevertheless this is not a new concept for mainframe systems have been using this technique for quite a while. Now you know that data centers are full of paraphernalia such as dense blade servers, closely placed systems having ventilation and cooling problems. These factors lead to increased heat generation and lesser heat extraction thus making probability for damaging these expensive and sensitive equipments. Extensive cooling systems are required for cooling these equipment which mean lots of noisy fans, motors, compressors etc. Moreover there is a limit to which heat can be conducted by air.

Scientists and researchers always like to innovate and think about things which we cannot even imagine. So I do not know when someone exactly had a flash saying – use water – but this is certainly a great development. Of course when I say cooling with water it does not mean to say that water is in direct contact with the equipment to be cooled. Water flowing over processors and other electronic equipment would surely be a doom day for your data center but the same water when flows in appropriate pipelines and cools water block which are similar to heat sinks, then the purpose gets achieved.

There are many innovations going on in this area but the concept of water cooling still isn’t as prevalent as it should have been because of the myths and lack of knowledge associated with this phenomenon as I have told above. So here are a few tips on how to change the attitude of the people in using water cooling for data centers.

Ignorance might be bliss but knowledge is power so the top level management should awake to the knowledge that water cooling is not an absurd concept but it a practically feasible options. This can be done by talking to experts, having training sessions and so forth. Once this concept gets installed at the top levels of hierarchy, it will surely trickle down to the lower strata of personnel.

The companies manufacturing equipments for data centers should try to demonstrate the energy saving capabilities of water cooled systems and show that water cooling could save as much as 40% costs of cooling which is a huge savings and data centers would surely be interested in such moves.

Many data center managers are under the confusion that how will they handle disaster situations if they have water pipes running through their equipments? Their fears should be addressed by giving them ample explanation about the pros and cons of the same.

Given the environmental benefits of huge savings in energy due to water cooling the governments and regulatory bodies could provide certain incentives for organisations to switch to water cooling systems.

The data center people would be more prepared to accept and change their attitude about water cooling once they know the true picture. It is not good to only paint a very rosy picture and hide the drawbacks of water cooling. This would only make them more skeptical and cautious. But if the drawbacks of water cooling are told and their relative comparison to other modes of cooling, they would feel that they are taking the decision armed with full knowledge about the subject hence they would be willing to accept it. The main drawback of using water cooling is that it lessens the flexibility of the data center personnel to move things around. This is obvious since water pipes and the plumbing arrangement is usually rigid and cannot be rearranged at a moments notice. In contrast air is literally found everywhere and it is easier to pick a server or a rack and slightly change its location.

Another disadvantage of the water cooling is that it is not very widespread currently. Since most companies are not worried about bringing a change in attitude of their customer but rather believe in adapting to their attitude there would not be many companies would have sufficient experience in installing and maintaining water cooling systems but over a period of time as more and more companies adapt to water cooling, the same principle of adaptation would mean that this gap would reduce and there will be plenty expertise available in the arena

Moreover experts, researchers and scientists who are fully aware of the various aspects of the cooling phenomenon should use forums, conferences and other platforms to spread the message of using water cooling in data centers. This may not be from a purely commercial point of view but from the point of view of environment and cost savings in the global perspective.

Finally it can be said that since the data centers are power hungry monsters and give lots of heat in return for the power fed to them, it is better to serve them with lots of cool water rather than cool air, which has nearly 4000 times (yes you read it right) more efficiency for cooling. Attitudes take time to change but once the determination is there, you can certainly achieve it.