{"id":2350,"date":"2013-03-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/otava.test\/michigan-the-next-cool-thing-for-data-centers\/"},"modified":"2013-03-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-20T00:00:00","slug":"michigan-the-next-cool-thing-for-data-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/michigan-the-next-cool-thing-for-data-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan \u2013 The Next Cool Thing for Data Centers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keeping cool is the number one cost for data centers.\u00a0 With rows and rows of servers and equipment producing heat, data centers have traditionally been cooled by using air conditioning.\u00a0 This is an inefficient way to cool data centers<\/a> and consumes a lot of power.<\/p>\n

As energy costs continue to rise, CIOs and data center managers are looking at all possibilities to become more energy efficient.<\/p>\n

An interesting trend to lower data center cooling costs is building data centers in regions that offer cool bodies of water and cooler air temperatures.\u00a0 In 2011, Google built a data center in Hamina, Finland to take advantage of the cold climate and proximity to the Baltic Sea.\u00a0 The data center facility is one of the most advanced and efficient Google data centers.<\/p>\n

The environmentally-friendly data center uses sea water to cool its servers.\u00a0 The data center brings in cool water using an inlet pipe and the water is pumped through the data center and run into exchangers to disperse heat from the servers.\u00a0 The warm water is mixed with the cool water and put back into the sea at a similar temperature in which it entered the system.\u00a0 The seawater cooling system is the only cooling system in Google\u2019s data center.<\/p>\n

In recent years, data center operators have look to \u201cfree cooling\u201d to help improve efficiencies.\u00a0 Free cooling uses the cool outside air to support the cooling systems.\u00a0 Google also built another data center in Saint-Ghislain, Belgium to take advantage of it\u2019s cool temperatures.\u00a0 By using free cooling,\u00a0 Google has eliminated air conditioning or chillers entirely.<\/p>\n

Michigan \u2013 A Cool Place to Be<\/strong>
\nTo help lower data center energy costs, Google decided to build their data centers in Northern European.\u00a0 However, what if an organization wants to build their data center in the United States?\u00a0 I say they should look no further than the state of Michigan.\u00a0 Michigan offers abundant natural resources, a lengthy coastline and cool temperatures \u2013 all which can be used to build green data centers.<\/p>\n

Michigan is surrounded by the Great Lakes, which contains 6 quadrillion gallons of water (one-fifth of the world\u2019s fresh surface water).\u00a0 And Michigan\u2019s coastline equals 3,288 miles, which is more coastline than any state other than Alaska.(1)<\/p>\n

If a company is looking to use water to cool their data center, there is no place better than to use Michigan\u2019s Great Lakes.\u00a0 The Great Lakes\u2019 average water temperature is 68o F and in certain areas in Lake Michigan the average temperature is a chilly 63o F \u2013 and that is in July.\u00a0 And there is Michigan\u2019s coastline.\u00a0 Data centers could not be built on every square inch of the coastline, but there is great potential.<\/p>\n

If a data center wants to implement free cooling, Michigan\u2019s climate also offers many positives. Detroit, Michigan\u2019s average temperature is 49o F degrees, ranging from 23o F in January and 72o F in July.\u00a0 In the northern Michigan peninsula the average temperature is colder with a daily mean of 40o F, ranging from 13o F in January to 64o F in July.(2)\u00a0 With cool temperatures year-round, Michigan data centers could use free cooling all year long.<\/p>\n

I believe that Michigan can offer many benefits that other states can\u2019t offer.\u00a0 Anyone who is considering building a data center must look at alternative cooling options, like free cooling, to help lower energy costs.\u00a0 And Michigan is the \u201ccool\u201d place to be.<\/p>\n

1 Great Lakes Basin brochure, 1990, Michigan Sea Grant
\n2 https:\/\/www.city-data.com\/states\/Michigan-Climate.html<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keeping cool is the number one cost for data centers.\u00a0 With rows and rows of servers and equipment producing heat, data centers have traditionally been cooled by using air conditioning.\u00a0 This is an inefficient way to cool data centers and consumes a lot of power. As energy costs continue to rise, CIOs and data center managers are looking at all possibilities to become more energy efficient. An interesting trend to lower data center cooling costs is building data centers in regions that offer cool bodies of water and cooler air temperatures.\u00a0 In 2011, Google built a data center in Hamina, Finland to take advantage of the cold climate and proximity to the Baltic Sea.\u00a0 The data center facility is one of the most advanced and efficient Google data centers. The environmentally-friendly data center uses sea water to cool its servers.\u00a0 The data center brings in cool water using an inlet pipe and the water is pumped through the data center and run into exchangers to disperse heat from the servers.\u00a0 The warm water is mixed with the cool water and put back into the sea at a similar temperature in which it entered the system.\u00a0 The seawater cooling system is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"other_category":[],"class_list":["post-2350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMichigan \u2013 The Next Cool Thing for Data Centers | OTAVA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A trend for lowering data center cooling costs is building in regions that offer cool 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