3 ms·

I’m curious why they use water instead of solar and AC with good insulation. Cheaper?

bobthepanda 3y ago
Sufficiently big AC systems often use water cooling because water is more effective at transferring heat than air, is cheaper than other liquids, and unlike other liquids is not a massive safety hazard if it leaks. It is why if you want to defrost something quickly, leave it in water rather than in the open air.
xwowsersx 3y ago
Basically, yes. It's about cooling efficiency, cost-effectiveness, practicality and scalability. Water has excellent heat transfer properties, which allows for efficient cooling. As I understand it, solar will have limited capacity and depend on sunlight availability..which obviously fluctuates based on weather conditions, whereas data centers need continuous power supply. Also, cost of installing a large-scale solar power system and maintaining battery storage can be high.
- Two4 3y ago
  Using solar without batteries to supplement baseload requirements is a great cost-cutting exercise, because it reduces grid draw when data center power requirements are highest (business hours) and electricity is most expensive. You can also add batteries later if they start to make more business sense.
  - xwowsersx 3y ago
    Ah interesting, make sense. You're saying use solar most abundant and cost-effective, effectively optimizing energy consumption and saving money by leveraging solar during high-demand periods? Just spitting it back to confirm I got what you're saying.
    - Two4 3y ago
      More or less, yes, although I'm not sure what you mean by "solar most abundant and cost-effective"
hinkley 3y ago
Don’t homes in Arizona mostly use swamp coolers? They’re more efficient as long as you have a water supply Hell my high school in Illinois had one. If you stood in the wrong spot some days you’d get spritzed because it wasn’t quite evaporating everything.
- ultrarunner 3y ago
  Most homes use air conditioning. Often times installed by a crane on SFH roofs. I don't think efficiency is a word most people bother with, unfortunately.

Sufficiently big AC systems often use water cooling because water is more effective at transferring heat than air, is cheaper than other liquids, and unlike other liquids is not a massive safety hazard if it leaks. It is why if you want to defrost something quickly, leave it in water rather than in the open air.

xwowsersx 3y ago

Basically, yes. It's about cooling efficiency, cost-effectiveness, practicality and scalability. Water has excellent heat transfer properties, which allows for efficient cooling. As I understand it, solar will have limited capacity and depend on sunlight availability..which obviously fluctuates based on weather conditions, whereas data centers need continuous power supply. Also, cost of installing a large-scale solar power system and maintaining battery storage can be high.

Two4 3y ago
Using solar without batteries to supplement baseload requirements is a great cost-cutting exercise, because it reduces grid draw when data center power requirements are highest (business hours) and electricity is most expensive. You can also add batteries later if they start to make more business sense.
- xwowsersx 3y ago
  Ah interesting, make sense. You're saying use solar most abundant and cost-effective, effectively optimizing energy consumption and saving money by leveraging solar during high-demand periods? Just spitting it back to confirm I got what you're saying.
  - Two4 3y ago
    More or less, yes, although I'm not sure what you mean by "solar most abundant and cost-effective"

hinkley 3y ago

Don’t homes in Arizona mostly use swamp coolers? They’re more efficient as long as you have a water supply Hell my high school in Illinois had one. If you stood in the wrong spot some days you’d get spritzed because it wasn’t quite evaporating everything.

ultrarunner 3y ago
Most homes use air conditioning. Often times installed by a crane on SFH roofs. I don't think efficiency is a word most people bother with, unfortunately.