The largest U.S. technology companies are working to shrink the water footprint of their data centers as worldwide demand for data services escalates, according to a report by the Bureau of National Affairs.
Data centers consume water indirectly during the production of electricity used to power the centers and directly for cooling the air inside to offset the heat generated by servers. Tech giants, including Facebook, Google and Microsoft Corp., are conserving water by using treated wastewater instead of potable water or replacing traditional cooling technologies with free cooling (removing heat by using naturally cool outside air, instead of mechanical chillers).
The industry group Green Grid developed water usage effectiveness (WUE) metrics to assess water used on-site for operation of data centers and off-site for production of electricity. WUE fluctuates based on temperature and humidity, and many companies are running their data centers hotter than normal and in a wider range of humidity to reduce water needs. Tight industry standards for temperature and humidity were relaxed as data center equipment and design improved.
Further innovation is expected to reduce water needs. While paying attention to water operationally, tech companies will also focus on site selection, seeking sites where, historically and based on future projections, the odds of water supply disruption are small.
“Tech Companies Work to Curb Water Use As Demand for Data Continues to Increase” appeared in the February 12, 2015 issue of BNA’s Daily Environment Report.