What Is Closed-Loop Cooling in a Data Center?

As data centers support increasingly powerful computing systems, keeping IT equipment at the right temperature is essential. But the way data centers cool that equipment has changed significantly.

One technology helping drive that change is closed-loop cooling.

How Does Closed-Loop Cooling Work?

Closed-loop cooling does what its name suggests: cooling water circulates through a sealed system rather than being continuously consumed during the cooling process.

The water moves through the facility to help transfer heat generated by servers and other IT equipment. Once the system is filled, that same water continues to circulate through the loop.

This differs from legacy cooling technologies, including cooling towers that rely on evaporation and require a continuing supply of water.

Why Does Closed-Loop Cooling Matter?

Water use has become an important consideration as communities evaluate new data center development, particularly in areas where water resources are constrained.

Modern closed-loop technology provides a different approach. By recirculating water rather than continuously consuming it for cooling, data centers can significantly reduce the water required for cooling operations.

At Aligned, our cooling architecture combines closed-loop technology with air-cooled chillers and our patented Delta³™ and DeltaFlow~™ systems to efficiently manage the heat generated by today’s computing environments.

That’s a Great Question

So, what does all of this look like inside a modern data center?

In the latest That’s a Great Question, Chief Technology Officer Michael Welch explains closed-loop cooling, how the system works and how modern cooling technology differs from previous generations of data centers.

Watch the video to hear Michael break it down.