E X P E R T O P I N I O N

climate conference emphasises that data centre owners must be ready to play their part . In the age of ESG , they must be climate conscious , and they must look to the latest technologies to ensure their facilities are adding net value to society .

Many such technologies exist and have proven themselves , but not all

are applicable in all geographies . For example , heat-recovery may be viable in colder countries , but is not suitable for the sun-soaked Middle East . However , other efficient means are on hand to make the region ’ s data centres greener . If planners aim for great design , then they must consider not just the exterior – such as the location , the resources used , the climate and the temperature – but also the interior of the facility .

Inner pieces

Rethinking the design of modern data centres means leaving no component overlooked – from the building itself down to the nuts and bolts of the servers . Indeed , server-cooling technologies are improving all the time , and some older ones are making a powerful comeback .

Liquid-immersion cooling , for example , has been around since the 1940s , and with the surging demand for denser computing that we are seeing today , the technology may be the answer to many problems . Modern liquid-immersion cooling uses a dielectric ( non-electrically conductive ) fluid which is far more effective in conducting and therefore enabling the dissipation of heat produced by hardware , compared to traditional air-based cooling systems .

Liquid-immersion could represent the future of data centre cooling . Facilities can operate with less physical space compared with traditional air-based solutions , while gaining energy savings of up to 50 %. Meanwhile , lower maintenance costs , cheaper builds and Power Usage Effectiveness ( PUE ) scores lower than 1.03 ( where 1.0 is the ideal ) mean organisations can reduce the time needed to realise a full return on their investment .

Building blocks

But cooling is not the only way to sustainability . Facility planners must also consider the building process itself . efficiencies , enhance quality and significantly reduce wastage .

Because prefabricated data centres have been assembled and tested in a controlled factory environment , construction is faster , less error-prone and less labour-intensive on site . Additionally , modules can be added whenever the demand arises , meaning data centre companies need not build a large facility to accommodate future expansion . Instead , they can build quickly as needed . All of this leads to a cheaper , more efficient , more sustainable projects .

Many regional governments , including that of the UAE , are firmly committed to the UN ’ s SDGs . Middle East authorities , and their counterparts elsewhere in Asia , the Americas and Europe , are placing greater emphasis on LEED certification

Emerging recently , a rapidly gaining acceptance for data centres of smaller scale , is the technique of prefabricated construction – also known as modular data centres . As the construction of the prefabricated modules primarily occurs offsite in dedicated fabrication facilities , standardised production methodologies can be implemented which improve and other standards in their regulatory frameworks . Nations everywhere , it seems , have recognised the importance of regulating their way to sustainability . But in playing their part , data centre owners can also take advantage of a lucrative new business model of longterm benefits – from quicker go-tomarket , to reduced operational costs . �

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