Keeping Data Centers Cool

Companies are learning now that by going green, they also appear to be improving the way the company is viewed in the eyes of the consumers. Data centers must be maintained at a very cool temperature. Obviously the more servers in the data center, the more heat that will be generated. This scenario does not sound like a very efficient one to me. Even though, servers are more efficient than in the past, the amount of energy used by these data servers is expected to double in the next few years as demand continues to grow.
Companies are now using sophisticated computer programs to help design data centers to improve the airflow so less energy will be required to keep the servers at optimal temperature. Some companies have also began to use computer programs to build air conditioning systems which simply circulates fresh air from the atmosphere in the cooler months as opposed to using Freon or other coolants to keep things cool. These techniques are much more energy efficient than typical air conditioning systems.
Major chip manufacturers such as Intel have heavily invested in improving the way the electrical efficiency of their microprocessors, while IBM and Hewlett-Packard continue to explore ways to improve cooling systems. Recently some companies abroad have gone solar or are powered by a renewable resource called “biomass”. Wind is also becoming a more utilized natural resource when it comes to providing energy to data centers. Another one of the most recent technologies used in data centers is called virtualization. This concept enables one computer to handle the functions of several others which reduces the amount of energy needed to maintain the server.
Companies both domestic and abroad are making progress when it comes to reducing the energy required to maintain their data centers, and it is obvious that technology plays an important role. As technologies improve and companies continue to invest and discover more ways to be efficient, the closer they will become to being truly “green”.