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Data centres can reduce energy use and cooling costs by measuring where power goes, correcting airflow, and tuning cooling to actual IT demand—not by simply making the room colder. Start with a facility and IT energy baseline, then make low-disruption airflow improvements before adjusting set points or investing in new cooling equipment. Keep every change within the thermal limits of the installed equipment and verify that it does not create hot spots or weaken resilience.
What should you measure before changing data centre cooling?
Measure total facility energy, IT energy, cooling-system performance, and the conditions at equipment inlets before changing the plant. Without a baseline, it is hard to tell whether a measure reduced energy, shifted it elsewhere, or merely changed the weather-dependent cooling load.
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Begin with power over a representative period and calculate power usage effectiveness (PUE): divide total facility energy by IT equipment energy over the same period and boundary. PUE helps show how much facility energy is used beyond the IT load, but it is not a cooling-only measure. It can also be affected by measurement boundaries and facility type, so compare like with like and look at seasonal results rather than treating a single reading as a universal score.
Where metering allows, submeter chillers, pumps, computer room air-conditioning or air-handler units (CRACs and CRAHs), fans, and high-density rows. Record IT load alongside those readings. This makes it easier to see whether cooling equipment is running harder than the current load requires, and to check the effect of a specific change instead of judging the whole facility by one number.
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- Cooling-system efficiency: Track cooling power in kilowatts per ton of cooling (kW/ton), using a consistent measurement boundary. The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2024 guide gives 1.1 kW/ton as a standard average benchmark, 0.8 kW/ton as a good-practice benchmark, and 0.6 kW/ton as a better benchmark. These are reference points, not guaranteed outcomes or targets for every plant.
- Temperature and humidity: Trend supply conditions and, most importantly, temperatures at server inlets. Room averages can conceal a local hot spot. Include humidity and alarm history when assessing a proposed set-point change.
- Air movement: Look for hot exhaust recirculating to rack fronts, cold air bypassing equipment, and unsealed cable openings. These are signs that cooling capacity may be wasted even when the room feels cold.
- Water: Track water use if the facility uses water-based heat rejection or is considering a water-side economizer. A lower electricity reading does not by itself prove that an intervention is better overall.
For perspective, the Australian Government reports a global average annual PUE of 1.55 based on 2022 data. That is context, not a pass/fail threshold: different facility types and measurement boundaries affect comparisons. Its data centre guidance is useful alongside facility-specific trends.
Which cooling improvements should you make first?
For many existing facilities, correcting airflow is the quickest low-capital starting point. It addresses mixing and bypass before you take on the greater controls, commissioning, and operational demands of an economizer or a new cooling architecture.
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- Align rack fronts and backs. Arrange racks so their fronts face one another across cold aisles and their backs face one another across hot aisles. This gives supply air a clearer route to equipment intakes and exhaust a clearer route away from them.
- Seal bypass paths. Close unused rack spaces with blanking panels and seal cable penetrations that let cold supply air escape or hot exhaust air recirculate. These physical details matter: containment will not work as intended if significant gaps remain.
- Contain the hot or cold aisle where appropriate. Containment separates supply and exhaust air so they mix less. Choose and maintain a consistent approach, then inspect for leaks and openings. ENERGY STAR says DOE estimates hot/cold aisle management combined with containment can reduce fan energy by 20–25%; treat that as a reported estimate, not a promise for a particular room.
- Review set points and controls. Compare supply-air, chilled-water, and humidity settings with applicable ASHRAE thermal guidance, equipment warranties, and the site’s operating requirements. Raise temperatures gradually, checking inlet readings and alarms as you go.
- Match cooling operation to demand. Use variable-speed fan and pump control where suitable, and stage cooling equipment to actual load. Avoid operating redundant equipment at unnecessary capacity, but do not compromise the required resilience arrangement.
- Assess economizers and higher-density cooling. Evaluate these only after the existing airflow and operating conditions are understood. Climate, filtration, water availability, density, service access, and heat rejection all affect whether a design is a good fit.
- Verify and keep watching. Trend energy, cooling, temperatures, humidity, and water through sensors or data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) telemetry. Review performance through different seasons and after material IT changes.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s best-practices guidance puts the aim clearly: “Maximize compute entering temperature to maximize energy efficiency while ensuring information technology (IT) equipment thermal guidelines are met to avoid overheating or compromising reliability.” The practical implication is to tune with inlet data and equipment limits—not to raise temperatures blindly.
How do hot-aisle and cold-aisle containment reduce cooling waste?
They reduce the mixing of cold supply air and hot server exhaust. When mixing and bypass are reduced, cooling air is more likely to reach equipment inlets and hot air is more likely to return to the cooling system as intended.
Start with rack orientation: cold air should reach the rack fronts, while hot exhaust leaves the backs without flowing back into an intake. Then close empty rack spaces with blanking panels and seal cable openings. If the aisle is contained, keep doors, panels, and openings managed as part of normal operations. A missing panel, open door, or newly cut cable gap can undo the separation locally.
Containment is generally a relatively low-capital intervention compared with installing a new cooling architecture, but it still needs disciplined layout and ongoing attention. It is not a substitute for checking inlet temperatures: a room can have tidy aisles and still contain a poorly served row or a local obstruction. Monitor the affected racks during and after changes, and investigate alarms rather than relying on an average room temperature.
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Can you raise data centre temperature or chilled-water set points?
Often, but only within the applicable ASHRAE thermal envelope and the limits of the installed IT equipment. Overcooling can waste compressor and fan energy; raising a set point too far can create overheating risk or compromise reliability.
First check the relevant thermal guidance and equipment warranties. Then establish a stable baseline for inlet temperatures, humidity, and alarms. Make gradual adjustments rather than changing multiple settings at once. Watch the racks and rows most likely to be affected, not just the room average, and pause or reverse the change if readings approach limits or alarms appear.
Supply-air and chilled-water set points interact with plant controls and actual load. A change that appears sensible in one season may need review when outdoor conditions or IT demand change. Include operators responsible for cooling and IT equipment in the decision, and document settings and observations so future shifts or maintenance work do not silently undo the change.
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When is an economizer a good fit?
An economizer can reduce or avoid compressor-based cooling when outdoor conditions and the system design allow it, but it is not automatically suitable everywhere. Evaluate outdoor temperature and humidity, filtration, corrosion control, water availability, treatment, and the reliability of controls before choosing air-side or water-side operation.
Air-side economizers use suitable outdoor air to reduce mechanical cooling demand. Their viability depends on the local climate and on managing filtration and corrosion risk. A site needs operating controls and maintenance practices that can handle the air entering the facility, not simply an outdoor temperature that looks favourable.
Water-side economizers use a heat-rejection path that can bypass chillers under suitable conditions. They can cut chiller runtime, but water supply and treatment matter. ENERGY STAR reports DOE estimates of up to 70% reduction in chilled-water costs from water-side economizing. That is an estimate reported by ENERGY STAR, not a universal current guarantee; actual savings depend on the plant, conditions, and how costs are measured.
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The Department of Energy FEMP/NREL guide recommends: “Use ‘free’ cooling to reduce or eliminate compressor-based cooling (chiller, direct expansion [DX]).” “Free” here means reducing compressor-based cooling; an economizer still has equipment, controls, maintenance, and operating requirements. Review those costs and the site’s climate and water constraints before treating it as a no-cost measure. The DOE guide provides further design guidance.
Which cooling architecture suits ordinary loads and high-density AI or HPC?
Conventional air cooling can suit ordinary loads; in-row or in-rack equipment can bring cooling closer to concentrated heat; and direct-to-chip or rear-door liquid systems are options to evaluate for high-density AI and high-performance computing (HPC). The right choice depends on the density and layout, total cost, serviceability, controls, water use, and heat-rejection design.
| Approach | Where it can fit | Potential benefit | Important trade-offs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air cooling with airflow correction | Ordinary loads and existing rooms with recirculation or bypass problems | Can address wasted airflow without a wholesale change in cooling architecture | Requires rack discipline, sealed openings, blanking panels, and attention to leaks and hot spots |
| In-row or in-rack cooling | Concentrated loads where cooling closer to the heat source is useful | Can target dense areas and may use less fan energy | Adds equipment and controls; serviceability and commissioning need consideration |
| Rear-door liquid cooling | High-density rows where rack exhaust heat needs a closer heat-removal path | Can be evaluated for dense AI/HPC heat loads | Requires an appropriate heat-rejection design and assessment of maintenance and water implications |
| Direct-to-chip liquid cooling | High-density AI/HPC systems designed for compatible liquid-cooled servers | Can reduce mechanical cooling demand for dense loads | Requires compatible servers, coolant distribution units, leak detection, water-quality management, controls, and a heat-rejection path |
This is a decision framework, not a claim that one technology always consumes less energy. Liquid cooling can reduce mechanical cooling demand, but it adds a coolant distribution system and new operational dependencies. For any design, compare the whole cooling and heat-rejection arrangement rather than looking only at the equipment nearest the rack.
Before a high-density retrofit, confirm the intended equipment is compatible, determine how coolant will be distributed and maintained, plan for leak detection, and establish how rejected heat will leave the facility. Assess maintenance access and the response to an alarm or service issue. These are design requirements, not optional details to defer until installation.
ASHRAE’s integrated design principles are especially pertinent when a change in IT density affects cooling, controls, and heat rejection together. Treat the rack, cooling distribution, and facility plant as parts of one design decision.
How can you reduce fan, pump, and chiller energy without weakening resilience?
Control equipment to actual load, but preserve the facility’s required redundancy and response capability. Variable-speed fans and pumps, and cooling equipment staged to demand, can avoid running at unnecessary capacity; changing how redundant equipment operates requires a clear understanding of the site’s resilience requirements.
First identify which units are serving which areas and how the operating sequence responds to changing load. Review actual IT demand, cooling demand, and operating status before adjusting control logic. A system that runs extra equipment continuously may have an opportunity to reduce operating energy, but redundancy is there for a reason. Do not disable or reduce standby capability without confirming the approved resilience arrangement and its operating consequences.
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After a control change, watch the cooling plant, pumps, fans, and inlet temperatures together. If one component uses less power while another works harder, the apparent local saving may not reduce total facility energy. Submetering makes this trade-off visible. Keep a record of the change, expected operating behaviour, alarms, and the conditions under which the previous sequence should be restored.
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How do you know whether a cooling project actually worked?
Compare like-for-like periods and boundaries, and use more than one metric. PUE can show facility energy relative to IT energy, while cooling kW/ton, inlet conditions, water use, carbon, and energy reuse help explain what changed and what trade-offs came with it.
Capture a baseline before work begins. For a retrofit, note the affected rows or equipment, IT load, cooling settings, relevant outdoor conditions, and the energy and temperature readings available. After commissioning, compare the same measures over comparable operating periods. Where outdoor conditions vary substantially, review a seasonal trend rather than attributing every change to the project.
Check that the result is operationally acceptable as well as electrically favourable: no new thermal hot spots, persistent alarms, or maintainability problems; inlet temperatures remain within equipment limits; and resilience is preserved. If savings do not appear, investigate whether controls, leaks, bypass air, or changes in IT load explain the result before escalating to a larger capital project.
PUE is useful but incomplete. Pair it with cooling efficiency and water-use, carbon, and energy-reuse measures. An electricity improvement can conceal increased water use, and a change in IT utilisation can affect the ratio without representing a like-for-like cooling improvement. Use consistent measurement boundaries and explain what is included when reporting results.
What should a construction or retrofit plan account for?
Plan cooling work around live operations, access, commissioning, and the way future IT changes will affect heat load. A construction scope that includes only equipment installation can miss the airflow sealing, sensor coverage, controls integration, and maintenance access that determine whether the design performs as intended.
For a low-disruption airflow project, coordinate rack layout, cable penetrations, blanking panels, and containment with IT moves and service access. Confirm which openings must remain available for operation or maintenance, and make responsibility for replacing panels or resealing openings clear. Small physical changes after completion can reintroduce bypass or mixing if they are not part of operating procedures.
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For economizers, include filtration, corrosion controls, water treatment where applicable, control sequences, and the conditions for switching between operating modes. Commissioning should confirm that the intended mode is actually available when conditions permit and that the plant returns to mechanical cooling as needed. For liquid cooling, include coolant distribution units, leak detection, water-quality management, server compatibility, controls, maintenance access, and heat rejection in the design review.
Document the baseline, set points, alarms, sequence of operation, resilience requirements, and post-change readings. This gives facilities staff a reliable reference when workloads, equipment, or seasons change. Revisit cooling assumptions after major IT additions or consolidations: a successful design for one density is not automatically suitable for another.
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How should you compare the main interventions?
Compare measures by capital and operating impact, density fit, dependence on climate or water, commissioning effort, disruption, and consequences for maintenance and resilience. The relative descriptions below reflect the trade-offs in the available guidance; actual project cost and savings require site-specific assessment.
| Intervention | Capital and energy potential | Density and site dependence | Controls, disruption, and maintenance | Metrics to watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rack alignment, sealing, blanking panels, and containment | Low-capital starting point; may reduce fan energy by limiting mixing and bypass | Broadly applicable where rack layout and airflow paths can be corrected | Requires disciplined layout, sealing, and attention to leaks; generally avoids a new cooling architecture | Fan energy, inlet temperatures, PUE, hot spots |
| Gradual set-point optimisation | Can reduce compressor and fan waste caused by overcooling | Must remain within applicable thermal guidance and equipment warranties | Needs gradual commissioning, monitoring, and a recovery plan if limits or alarms are approached | Cooling energy, PUE, inlet temperature, humidity, alarms |
| Variable-speed controls and load staging | Can align fan and pump operation with actual load | Depends on installed equipment and the facility’s operating design | Requires controls review and protection of resilience requirements | Fan and pump energy, cooling energy, PUE, operating status |
| Air-side economizer | Can reduce compressor-based cooling when conditions permit | Depends on outdoor conditions, filtration, and corrosion control | Needs appropriate operating controls and maintenance practices | Cooling energy, PUE, temperature, humidity, filtration conditions |
| Water-side economizer | Can bypass chillers in suitable conditions | Depends on plant design, water availability, and treatment | Requires commissioning of modes and attention to water and plant maintenance | Chiller and cooling energy, water use, PUE |
| In-row or in-rack cooling | Brings cooling nearer concentrated heat; may use less fan energy | Useful to evaluate for concentrated loads | Adds equipment and controls; assess access and serviceability | Row-level temperatures and energy, PUE, maintenance events |
| Direct-to-chip or rear-door liquid cooling | Can reduce mechanical cooling demand for high-density loads | Most compelling to evaluate for compatible AI/HPC systems; depends on heat rejection and, for direct-to-chip, coolant infrastructure | Requires equipment compatibility, leak detection, water-quality management, controls, and service planning | Cooling and facility energy, water use, carbon, heat reuse, reliability |
No single row should be read as a guaranteed saving or a universal ranking. The right sequence is usually to understand the existing load, remove avoidable airflow waste, tune within safe limits, then make a site-specific case for economizers or higher-density cooling. Measure the result against the facility’s own baseline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a PUE of 1.55 good for a data centre?
It is a useful comparison point, not a universal pass mark. The Australian Government reports 1.55 as a global annual average based on 2022 data, but facility type and measurement boundaries affect whether a comparison is meaningful.
Does an economizer mean a data centre needs no chiller?
Not necessarily. Economizers can reduce or eliminate compressor-based cooling when conditions and system design allow, but the facility still needs an appropriate operating mode when those conditions are unsuitable.
Can liquid cooling eliminate water use?
The supplied guidance does not support a general claim that liquid cooling eliminates water use. Water implications depend on the cooling and heat-rejection design, so assess water use alongside energy and carbon.
Why track WUE and CUE if PUE is already measured?
PUE describes facility energy relative to IT energy, but cannot by itself show water or carbon trade-offs. Pairing it with water-use and carbon measures gives a broader view of the consequences of a cooling change.
