Vertiv’s white paper explores the trade-offs between water use, energy efficiency, and sustainability in data center cooling. While evaporative and adiabatic systems lower power usage effectiveness (PUE), they significantly raise water usage effectiveness (WUE), adding millions of gallons of annual consumption. Water use reduces peak power needs but increases costs for utilities, wastewater, and treatment, and raises environmental concerns, as water vapor amplifies climate change. Alternatives like DX with pumped refrigerant or air-cooled chillers achieve near-equal efficiency with zero water use and lower long-term costs, making them strong options for sustainable data centers.

Join for free to read