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8 September 2026

Air-cooling for data centres

The topic provides technical context on the infrastructure requirements and environmental challenges of data centres, which are increasingly critical for India's digital economy and industrial growth.

1 min read 2 questions 2 prelims

Notes

  • Data centres generate heat due to electrical resistance and transistor switching in processors.
  • A 1-GW data centre requires the removal of 1 GW of heat to the environment.
  • Cooling technologies include air-cooling (CRAC, CRAH, hot/cold-aisle containment, free-cooling), direct liquid cooling (cold-plate), immersion cooling (single/two-phase), evaporative cooling, and dry-cooling.
  • Liquid cooling is generally more efficient than air-cooling due to the higher heat capacity of liquids.
  • Air-cooling is limited by the 'thermal wall' (approx. 40 kW per rack), whereas modern AI chips can drive rack heat output to 120-150 kW.
  • Air-cooling infrastructure is cheaper upfront but incurs higher long-term costs due to efficiency losses and potential acoustic pollution (up to 100 dB).
  • Hybrid cooling systems combine air-cooling for low-density servers and direct-to-chip (DTC) liquid cooling for high-density AI clusters.
  • Google's 1-GW Visakhapatnam facility plans to use air-cooling and implement watershed management to replenish 120% of water consumed for non-cooling needs by 2030.

Questions

  1. Discuss the technological challenges associated with cooling high-density data centres in the context of the growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure. 150 words
    Attempt this — 150 words in 8 min
    0 / 150 words 8:00
  2. Examine the environmental trade-offs between air-cooling and liquid-cooling technologies in large-scale data centres. How can India balance the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure with sustainable water and energy management practices? 250 words
    Attempt this — 250 words in 11 min
    0 / 250 words 11:00

Prelims

  1. Which of the following cooling technologies for data centres involves immersing electronics in a non-conductive liquid?

  2. What is the primary reason liquid-cooling is often considered more effective than air-cooling for high-density data centres?

Syllabus

Topics

Sources

250words.in · https://250words.in/daily/2026-09-08/air-cooling-for-data-centres