Research

Emergence and Expansion of Liquid Cooling in Mainstream Data Centers

An ASHRAE technical white paper on the factors accelerating the transition of data centers from predominantly air-based to liquid cooling. The document links rising CPU, GPU, FPGA, and memory power levels to the limitations of air-based systems in terms of airflow, temperature, noise, rack density, and personnel safety. It examines ASHRAE water classes, direct liquid cooling and immersion cooling, and the implications for PUE, TCO, power delivery, heat reuse, and deployment in enterprise, HPC, and colocation data centers.