Sustainability is on the radar for data center designers, builders, and operators.
As regulators and citizens are becoming anxious at the demands data centers place on scarce water resources, power generation, and power distribution, all of us in the industry are rethinking how we build and operate our data centers. Whether by committing to zero water consumption, carbon neutrality, or simply driving down PUE, we’re putting time, money, and effort into sustainability improvements.
However…could these shifts put industry sustainability efforts at risk?
We’ve all heard about 100MW, 250MW, even 500MW data centers in the planning and construction stages, and of course those data centers get all the press. However, for every huge data center, there are dozens of smaller data centers being built. Due to challenges with power distribution, site selection, and supply chain gaps, we’re already seeing more and more 1MW-5MW data centers designed and delivered than ever before.
What Is Distributed Computing and Why Is It Driving More Small Data Centers?
Distributed and edge computing, both of which are designed to place workloads with demanding compute, storage, and networking requirements as close to the end user as possible, are becoming increasingly common. Corporate data center trends show that by 2025, 75% of data creation and processing will be outside the range of traditional and cloud data centers. Whether that’s due to a need to solve latency issues, a need for greater resilience, proliferation of IoT infrastructure, or a need for a compute mesh spread over multiple locations to handle analytics, organizations increasingly see the need to roll out dozens or hundreds of small, distributed computing nodes or racks or containers.
The third shift is the move toward second-tier and third-tier cities. We’re already seeing massive growth to builds in those locations to do a better job of accommodating where data is generated and where data is consumed. Many of those builds will be small builds in order to get new capacity in those markets online as quickly as possible.
These three trends don’t seem problematic on the surface. However, where sustainability is concerned, there’s a critical question:
Why Are Data Centers Expanding Into Second- and Third-Tier Cities?
After all, it seems logical that spreading workloads across thousands of micro-data centers and edge computing nodes will work against the demands for a more sustainable industry.
Do Smaller and Distributed Data Centers Hurt Sustainability Efforts?
Of course, it makes sense that organizations achieve sustainability efficiencies at scale. But fortunately, we’ve seen certain efficiencies emerge because of the rise of smaller data centers and distributed computing.
How Can Small Data Centers Improve Energy and Water Efficiency?
- Data movement costs money, and keeping information locally reduces the power costs of switching from an endpoint to a cloud and back again. The content delivery companies learned that several years ago.
- When you get to 1-10MW data centers, you can often get away with more free cooling. When you have 50MW of power consumption, you almost certainly need active cooling — but smaller-density data centers are more easily cooled with free-air cooling.
- Tiny deployments, such as edge nodes, can often get away with passive cooling.
- Some new technologies, including immersion cooling and innovations like the Nautilus approach, can deliver hyperscale-like PUE levels in small data centers and tiny enclosures.
- Smaller data centers can be used to provide heat. There’s even a company in the UK installing servers in homes and using the heat to heat water for human use!
So there are proven ways to maximize the energy and water utilization efficiency of smaller data centers and edge nodes.
In conclusion, we don’t see that the shift toward smaller data centers has to impede sustainability. In reality, we see that small nodes and data centers can be just as sustainable as hyperscale data centers. We’re excited about leading the charge toward low PUE and zero water consumption in small and large data centers around the world.
Learn more about how Nautilus delivered a highly sustainable 7MW data center in Stockton, California.
FAQs
Can small data centers be sustainable?
Yes. Small data centers can be sustainable when they use efficient cooling systems, reduce data transport, and operate closer to end users. Technologies like liquid cooling and free cooling help lower energy and water usage.
Why are small data centers becoming more common?
Small data centers are growing because of distributed computing and edge workloads. Companies need faster processing closer to users, which requires smaller, localized facilities instead of relying only on large hyperscale data centers.
How do small data centers reduce energy consumption?
Small data centers reduce energy use by processing data locally, which lowers transmission costs. They can also use high-efficiency cooling systems, including liquid cooling, to remove heat more effectively than traditional air cooling.
Do small data centers use more water than large facilities?
Not necessarily. Modern small data centers can use closed-loop or water-efficient cooling systems that minimize water consumption. In some cases, they use less water than traditional air-cooled facilities that rely on evaporative cooling.
What role does liquid cooling play in small data center sustainability?
Liquid cooling improves sustainability by removing heat more efficiently than air. This reduces overall power consumption, supports higher-density computing, and helps small data centers operate with better energy efficiency.
