“Near” zero??
Leslie Groves, Oppenheimer
45°C cooling design cuts data center water use to near zero
181–190 of 450 posts
Re: 45°C cooling design cuts data center water use to near zero
#182This opens up an interesting synergy: district heating. 45C is low but not unworkable for a district heating loop, and a data center might be able to make a nice pitch to a community if the data center offers to provide heat to a district heating system for free. This brings the value to the local community of a nearby datacenter up from near zero to potentially a few million dollars per year. Summer is still an issu…
What's the problem with skylights?
Re: 45°C cooling design cuts data center water use to near zero
#183This opens up an interesting synergy: district heating. 45C is low but not unworkable for a district heating loop, and a data center might be able to make a nice pitch to a community if the data center offers to provide heat to a district heating system for free. This brings the value to the local community of a nearby datacenter up from near zero to potentially a few million dollars per year. Summer is still an issu…
What's the problem with skylights?
Windows are harder to insulate than walls anyway, but the most important insulation is in the roof because heat rises, so skylights would leak even more heat than normal windows already do.
Re: 45°C cooling design cuts data center water use to near zero
#184This opens up an interesting synergy: district heating. 45C is low but not unworkable for a district heating loop, and a data center might be able to make a nice pitch to a community if the data center offers to provide heat to a district heating system for free. This brings the value to the local community of a nearby datacenter up from near zero to potentially a few million dollars per year. Summer is still an issu…
The value of an AI data center in your area is negative, not near zero. Pollution, water use, heat, infrasound (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bP80DEAbuo) and so much more... But at least we may get some cheap heat in the future
Re: 45°C cooling design cuts data center water use to near zero
#185This opens up an interesting synergy: district heating. 45C is low but not unworkable for a district heating loop, and a data center might be able to make a nice pitch to a community if the data center offers to provide heat to a district heating system for free. This brings the value to the local community of a nearby datacenter up from near zero to potentially a few million dollars per year. Summer is still an issu…
The value of an AI data center in your area is negative, not near zero. Pollution, water use, heat, infrasound ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bP80DEAbuo ) and so much more... But at least we may get some cheap heat in the future
Heat is not a cost -- no one is physically cooking because they live within miles of a building with computers in it.
Water usage is not a cost with this new technology -- that is what the article is about.
Infrasound is terrifically understudied and should not be discussed definitively based on the findings of a highly-biased amateur, but regardless: fan sound is not a cost with this new technology -- that is what the article is about.
Re:pollution, I suppose all buildings are kinda inherently polluting just by existing. So you've got them on that point!
Most importantly, actually: the person above clearly knows about all this, and was just discussing the benefits on their own. I love me some pedantry (really!) but this attempt seems counterproductive, sorry.
Re: 45°C cooling design cuts data center water use to near zero
#186Earlier quoted context omitted.
The value of an AI data center in your area is negative, not near zero. Pollution, water use, heat, infrasound ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bP80DEAbuo ) and so much more... But at least we may get some cheap heat in the future
Heat is not a cost -- no one is physically cooking because they live within miles of a building with computers in it. Water usage is not a cost with this new technology -- that is what the article is about. Infrasound is terrifically understudied and should not be discussed definitively based on the findings of a highly-biased amateur, but regardless: fan sound is not a cost with this new technology -- that is what t…
> Heat is not a cost
hmm? maybe it differs from time to time? on summer, it IS cost (nearby need to run AC)
Re: 45°C cooling design cuts data center water use to near zero
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the problem with skylights?
Windows are harder to insulate than walls anyway, but the most important insulation is in the roof because heat rises, so skylights would leak even more heat than normal windows already do.
Your logic is solid, but their usage kinda implies the opposite (that skylights would make summers worse, not winters). That seems possible given the obvious dynamics of increasing the amount of direct sunlight, but based on a quick Kagi the overall effect is actually good for both summer and winter if used instead of windows rather than in addition to windows:
Introducing skylights allows the total fenestration area (windows plus skylights) to be reduced from a maximum 20% of floor area to as low as 12% of floor area while achieving the same baseline average daylight factor target of 5%, and reduces annual heating and cooling energy use and costs in all but two of the 108 models with skylights analyzed. In other words, when different combinations of skylights and windows are used to achieve the same target daylight factor, the heating and cooling energy cost savings are almost always greater when equivalent daylight comes from top‐lighting (skylights) rather than side‐lighting (windows).
Re: 45°C cooling design cuts data center water use to near zero
#188This opens up an interesting synergy: district heating. 45C is low but not unworkable for a district heating loop, and a data center might be able to make a nice pitch to a community if the data center offers to provide heat to a district heating system for free. This brings the value to the local community of a nearby datacenter up from near zero to potentially a few million dollars per year. Summer is still an issu…
> This brings the value to the local community of a nearby datacenter up from near zero to potentially a few million dollars per year.
You are not wrong, but the whole issue is a bit silly: there should be legal ways for data centres (and other commercial operations) to just send a few million dollars a year to whichever community they need to convince; instead of having to dress it up as free heating.
Re: 45°C cooling design cuts data center water use to near zero
#189Earlier quoted context omitted.
Windows are harder to insulate than walls anyway, but the most important insulation is in the roof because heat rises, so skylights would leak even more heat than normal windows already do.
Your logic is solid, but their usage kinda implies the opposite (that skylights would make summers worse, not winters). That seems possible given the obvious dynamics of increasing the amount of direct sunlight, but based on a quick Kagi the overall effect is actually good for both summer and winter if used instead of windows rather than in addition to windows: Introducing skylights allows the total fenestration area…
Probably less good if you want to enjoy the view horizontally.
Re: 45°C cooling design cuts data center water use to near zero
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
i'm confused on the humming part, i've driven by them many times and they're just...large, sorta ugly, buildings. but that's really it. i wonder if i walked up to a building i'd hear the humming. quite surprised to learn that they emit a humming that bothers nearby folks
Maybe those complaints are for datacenters using gas turbines for power. I think some of the recent ones (xAIs?) was built without sufficient power from the grid.
xAI colossus was built without sufficient grid power, so uses "mobile" gas turbines to generate power.
It's absurd, and serves as evidence that we need a confiscatory wealth tax, if we want to maintain a society.