Extreme Low Energy Server Cooling

ICT infrastructures are responsible for a significant proportion of electricity consumed, exceeding 1560TWh and corresponding to ~8% of the global demand. The energy usage of datacentres has a growth of roughly 11% per year over the last decade. However, in datacentres, IT equipment only uses half of the total energy, with the
remaining 50% used for cooling and electrical power. The dominating factor is the mechanical cooling plant provided by convection fans, accounting for 33% of the energy consumption. This study will systematically assess the feasibility of an alternative air moving system using piezo actuators for DC based server cooling in comparison to conventional fan technology for server cooling in datacentres. The combined technology of using alternative air cooling and DC power will significantly reduce the demand of electricity required from ICT infrastructures and the cost of operating such systems, cutting the energy use for server cooling by
approximately three quarters compared to the conventional technology. The disruptive innovation will also be commercially analysed against business as usual to facilitate the realisation of its potential.