Controlling Temperatures in Modern Data Centers

The Changing Demands of Data Centers

As tech grows in prominence, so too does the volume of data utilized. The last few years in particular have seen this start to snowball significantly.

• In 2015, the volume of data stored in data centers was around 171 exabytes.
• By the end of 2021, it’s expected to grow to as much as 1,327 exabytes. 
  

Changing demands and needs of users causes this spike in data being processed and stored. A swelling volume of photos and videos being uploaded and downloaded, along with the prominence of social media, has contributed to a rise in data transfer volumes. 

The increasing popularity of video on demand and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, which have started to surpass traditional TV, has seen an astronomical rise in data transfer across speedier networks too. 

Data centers have also faced additional pressures in recent years as demand has risen for other faster and more complex computing services, such as:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Internet of Things (IOT)
  
• Advanced graphics processing
• High performance computing
• Next generation gaming

This change in behaviors and technology puts a significant strain on data transfer. It means data centers have expanded hugely in terms of both capacity and size. 

The average power consumption is 7kW per rack within most data centers, although nearly two-thirds of US data centers experience peak demands of 15 and 16kW per rack². As 5G and Big Data further advance telecom and datacom infrastructure, these levels will likely only grow.

How Much Heat Does a Data Center Produce?

When you operate any electrical equipment, it generates heat. This is the true whether you’re using a phone, or something much more powerful. Data centers are the same, but with the dial turned to maximum.

They generate such high amounts of excessive heat because they use so much electricity. The makeup of data centers means bringing together a very large number of electrical circuit boards, each with heat generating components mounted onto them. 

Components such as processors generate huge volumes of heat. When these are placed close together in data centers that need to balance functionality with smaller footprints, that heat rises exponentially. This means effective climate control in data centers is vital. 

Data centers account for around 2% of all US electricity use³ (consuming about 73 billion kWh per year⁴). Globally, data centers consume around 205 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually, a figure that continues to grow⁵. This massive volume of electricity use means a similarly high volume of heat is generated and needs to be dissipated in the most efficient way possible.

Challenges in Data Center Thermal Management

Heat is a natural by-product of data and processing power. As the former grows in volume, so too does the latter. This can be problematic, particularly in tight spaces like data centers. 

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) updated its guidelines in response to soaring data center energy consumption. According to the guidelines, the acceptable recommended operating data center temperature standards for computer rooms and data centers is between 64° and 81°F⁶ (17° to 27°C). 

Without data center cooling, it can be easy to exceed these guidelines. This can lead to overheating that damages your servers, such as⁷:   

• Blown server chips and melted CPUs
• Graphics cards catching fire
• Corrupt ROM memories as their charged, isolated plates lose memory when temperatures rise

Fire breaking out within a data center also puts people at risk, alongside data stored at the facility. 

As well as the risk to life, failure to effectively dissipate heat causes various issues, including:

• Reliability problems, which are unacceptable in a world where connectivity is taken as a given, leading to costly downtime.
• Failure of key electronics, which can lead to substantial downtime, data loss and real reputational damage for those affected.
  
• Decreased lifespan of components, which may quickly get costly given the volume of components that would require replacing on an ongoing basis.

Thermal management in data centers means effectively removing excess heat from the components generating it as quickly and efficiently as possible to reduce these risks.

Data Center Cooling Tactics

Thermal management in modern, power-heavy data centers takes many forms. This can include: 

• Passive and mechanical tactics, such as metal heat sinks that transfer heat away from components.
• Active cooling systems like fans and liquids that lower the operating temperature of components.
  
• Hybrid solutions including heat pipes that use condensation to absorb and move heat away from dangerous areas.
• Thermal interface materials, like the Henkel thermal management portfolio, that are applied between the heat sink and component. These eliminate thermally insulating air pockets trapped between the two surfaces so heat can flow and dissipate effectively. 

An impactful thermal management approach for data centers comes from understanding that one solution does not necessarily work for all applications.

Henkel’s Data Center Cooling Solutions

We understand the importance of working closely with thermal designers and process engineers to get to grips with the needs and technology requirements of any data center. 

At Henkel, we dig deep into the requirements of the specific data center to ensure we can find a solution that meets its needs, whether that’s a GAP PAD^® product designed to increase the efficiency of heat transfer across HDD and SDD components on a line card, or thermal gels that offer added data center heat dissipation, along with process flexibility.

And it doesn’t end there. Effective data center thermal management is about more than just products. We support engineers and manufacturers in the application of thermal management systems during the qualification process. Beyond that, we work with them to introduce the solutions to the production line and assist during its implementation at volume. 

That consultation and support is vital to ensure the best possible solution is implemented for any data center. 

In an industry where reliability is important and failure isn’t an option, heat can be a very real threat. Effective thermal management can go a long way to protect data center components from it, lowering the risk of failure over time and keeping the ever-increasing flow of data alive.

Temperature control and efficient thermal management is essential for optimal data center performance. Learn more about managing issues with heat in high power devices in our blog.

Discover our full thermal management materials portfolio to find your ultimate solution. Or learn more about Henkel services to see how we can help you get the best possible heat dissipation solutions for your application.

_{¹https://www.statista.com/topics/6165/data-centers/ 
²https://www.datacenters.com/news/understanding-the-interplay-between-data-center-power-consumption-data-center-en 
³https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/data-centers-and-servers 
⁴https://eta.lbl.gov/publications/united-states-data-center-energy 
⁵https://energyinnovation.org/2020/03/17/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-really-use/ 
⁶https://www.ashrae.org/ 
⁷https://thinkcomputers.org/bad-things-will-happen-if-you-dont-keep-your-server-room-cool-enough/}