Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation are making it increasingly difficult for data centres to balance the demands of supporting the digital economy’s growth with the need for sustainability.
“AI-driven data centres are poised to become major energy consumers,” says Maurizio Frizziero, director for cooling innovation and strategy at Schneider Electric. He predicts that AI workload will grow two to three times faster than workloads in legacy data centres and that AI-driven data centres will represent 15% to 20% of all data centre capacity by 2028.
Addressing AI workloads
AI workloads demand a new generation of data centres instead of merely an upgrade to existing facilities. “[AI workloads need data centres with] a fundamentally different architecture, including specialised IT infrastructure, power, and cooling systems,” says Frizziero.
Tasks such as training large language models (LLMs), for instance, often require thousands of graphics processing units (GPUs) working in unison. Large AI clusters will come in sizes of around 1MW to 2MW, with rack densities ranging from 25KW to 120KW, depending on the model and number of GPUs, he adds.
“Currently, most data centres can only support peak rack power densities of about 10kW to 20kW. Deploying tens or hundreds of racks, each exceeding 20kW, in an AI cluster will therefore present substantial infrastructure challenges for data centres,” explains Frizziero.
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“As data centres become more densely packed, particularly with AI GPUs, they will encounter new power challenges. This will necessitate changes in power distribution within racks, potentially reaching up to 60 Amps per rack,” he adds.
Frizziero further illustrates the need for more power for such data centres, which includes using higher voltages or switching to direct current (DC) power. With more densely packed data centres, he points out that enhanced breaker coordination and arc flash protection will become key. These will then lead to the increased use of advanced electrical design tools and digital twins.
“Additionally, the power grid will need to deliver substantial amounts of electricity to these data centres. Both onsite and off-site power solutions, such as modern, cleaner energy sources, peaker plants, and energy storage, will become more prevalent,” he says.
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Ensuring sustainability through cooling
The growing need for higher-powered data centres calls for adjustments to their operating conditions, particularly in cooling.
While liquid cooling is the “mandatory choice” amid growing densities, it has no real edge over air cooling. “However, we can certainly consider that air cooling is not optimised for densities above 30kW [per] rack and liquid cooling is mandatory above 50kW [per] rack,” says Frizziero.
“Since the operating parameters for cooling are ever-changing, the best strategy for the future is to apply flexible solutions and not to use the ‘just enough’ approach.” For instance, data centre operators should choose chillers even if they will have a greater impact on the overall system architecture instead of simply relying on compressor-less cooling. The latter will become insufficient should densities continue rising, says Frizzerio, referring to examples from server and chip manufacturers, along with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
To make data centres as sustainable as possible, Frizzerio recommends operators or providers select chilled water instead of refrigerant base units. Data centres should also be designed for higher chilled water temperatures, with temperatures at 22 degrees Celsius for air cooling and higher for liquid cooling.
In addition, chillers should be designed for data centre applications instead of simply being used for comfort cooling. Frizzerio also prefers units with inverter-driven components for pumps and compressors and recommends that compressors be fitted with oil-free Turbocor centrifugal compressors.
Data centre operators should also consider using primary-only water loops instead of splitting them into primary and secondary uses. They should use coolant distribution units (CDUs) with an approximate temperature of 3 degrees Celsius at most, as this amplifies the chiller efficiency, says Frizzerio.
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He also advises data centre operators to avoid relying solely on water to cool their facilities where possible, as this approach leads to excessive water wastage despite its potential to reduce energy consumption.
Balancing energy efficiency and uptime
Energy efficiency and operational reliability are crucial for data centres to remain competitive and compliant with regulations.
Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure IT platform addresses these challenges with advanced analytics and real-time monitoring, says Anna Timme, Schneider Electric’s head of sustainability, secure power and data centres. According to a Forrester study, companies utilising this platform have reported savings of up to 22.5% on utility expenses and a reduction in downtime by as much as 40 hours annually by the sixth year.
Timme also highlights the case of Indian jewellery retailer Tanishq, which adopted the software to optimise energy consumption across its retail sites.
“As a result, Tanishq has reduced its energy costs by up to 20% and maintenance costs by around 15%. Also, thanks to the improved uptime of the new edge computing solution and the ability to remotely manage it without disrupting staff, Tanishq has been able to improve the in-store buying experience for its high-end customers,” she says.
Lifecycle management and reducing e-waste
When it comes to promoting recycling and reducing e-waste, Schneider Electric employs several methods, including reducing waste during the manufacturing process of its equipment and leading the dialogue within the industry on ways to standardise data centre sustainability metrics.
“We are deeply committed to manufacturing equipment in ways that minimise their lifecycle sustainability impacts and have been incorporating environmental considerations into our product designs for more than 15 years,” says Timme.
Referring to Schneider Electric’s EcoDesignWay, she highlights that the group has been designing solutions for its data centre customers with waste reduction in mind. This includes manufacturing maintenance-ready equipment and incorporating materials with increasing levels of circularity.
“We are also embedding AI technologies into data centre products and services, using predictive analytics that optimises service visits and component upgrades,” she adds. “This ultimately maximises the useful life of data centre equipment and reduces unnecessary component and equipment replacement.”
In 2023, Schneider Electric also released a guide on helping data centre operators address their sustainability impact across their suppliers and operators.
“The guide suggests looking at five categories: energy, greenhouse gas emissions, water, local ecosystem and waste. In the waste category, we propose that data centre operators utilise industry frameworks to track six key metrics across waste generation and waste diversion. We believe that standardising these metrics will encourage target setting and adoption, improve benchmarking, and progress the sustainability agenda within the data centre industry,” says Timme.
Presently, the industry needs to address its scope 3 emissions, where rising demand is leading to a higher total carbon footprint, says Timme. “The majority of a data centre’s scope 3 emissions are upstream, originating from the embodied carbon in the equipment and materials used to construct the facility. Reducing these emissions is critical and involves selecting products with the lowest carbon emissions.”
Among the group’s initiatives, Timme notes that it measures and understands its products’ carbon footprint to choose better the materials it uses in the eco-design process for new offerings. “We can incorporate lower-carbon materials, right-size equipment, and increase resource efficiency. As a result, we lower emissions as much as possible during manufacturing, ultimately helping our customers decrease their scope 3 emissions,” she adds.
