A large cloud computing data center in northern China faced a severe challenge: its traditional air-cooling system was nearing its limit. Server room temperatures frequently approached alert levels during summer, and the enormous energy consumption for heat dissipation kept operational costs high. Its PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) value consistently remained above 1.5, failing to meet the development requirements for green data centers.
Instead of simply expanding its air conditioning capacity, the data center initiated a strategic partnership with Huawei Digital Power. Together, they deployed a new indirect evaporative cooling and liquid cooling integrated solution, where high-efficiency water coolers (chillers + liquid cooling plates) served as the core of the entire plan.
The key to the collaboration was deep integration and joint optimization:
1.
Co-design: The Huawei team deeply integrated its self-developed FusionCol indirect evaporative cooling system with the data center’s IT equipment layout and heat load profile, participating in the planning from the early building phase to maximize the use of natural cooling resources.
2.
Scenario-based Application: For high-density AI computing server clusters, the partners jointly tested and deployed cold plate liquid cooling. Chilled liquid from the water coolers was directly circulated through sealed pipes to cold plates attached to the server chips, enabling efficient and precise heat dissipation.
Outcome: After project completion, the data center’s annual PUE dropped to below 1.25, with natural cooling providing free cooling for over 60% of the year. Compared to the traditional solution, total energy consumption was reduced by more than 30%, equivalent to saving tens of millions of kilowatt-hours annually. Furthermore, servers operated in a lower-temperature, more stable environment, enhancing both performance and reliability.
This case demonstrates that modern collaboration involving water coolers has evolved from mere equipment supply to an energy-efficiency strategic partnership starting from top-level design. By deeply integrating technology with the operational scenario, it transforms cooling from a “cost center” into an “efficiency engine,” jointly defining the new standard for the next generation of green data centers.
