What is liquid cooling? To put it simply, liquid cooling is when the removal of a heat source is done by a liquid. Pretty straightforward, right? It should be, but there’s actually quite a few misconceptions as to what solutions are considered ‘liquid cooling’ and what are not. One thing to be aware of is, liquid has always been part of the data center cooling equation. However, a solution should only be considered ‘liquid cooling’ when the first loop of heat transfer is done by a liquid (i.e. when the heat produced by IT equipment is directly removed by a liquid). For example, rear door heat exchangers have liquid running through them, but the heat produced by IT equipment is still removed by air. That air only travels a short distance before transferring that heat to the liquid running inside the rear door heat exchanger, but nonetheless, this would still be considered an air cooled solution.

As liquid cooling continues to gain traction in the industry, understanding what solutions are ‘liquid cooling’ and what aren’t is very important to being able to have informed conversations on the topic.

For more information on liquid cooling solutions and understanding why a blended approach between liquid and air will become the norm for most facilities moving forward, check out Lars Strong’s recent webinar titled, For Most Data Centers, Liquid and Air Cooling Will Not Be Mutually Exclusive.

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