The equipment yard at the Google data center in Belgium features no chillers. (Photo from Google)

Google’s data center in Belgium has no chillers to support its cooling systems. Data Center Knowledge explains that the chillers used to refrigerate water to cool data centers require, unsurprisingly, a large amount of electricity to operate. The quest for cost-effective energy via efficiency has led to a practice known as “free cooling:” air from outside the data center is used when the temperature is cool, while falling back on chillers on warmer days. Google takes this strategy to the next level eliminating chillers altogether in its data center near Saint-Ghislain, Belgium. Bonus feature is an on-site water purification facility that allows it to use water from a nearby industrial canal rather than a municipal water utility. Google anticipates  free cooling at the facility for about seven days per year, but what’s really fascinating is what happens when the weather gets hot: Google will turn off equipment as needed in Belgium and shift computing load to other data centers.

“Follow the Moon” energy management seamlessly shifts workloads between data centers might lead to the management possibility being called “follow the moon” which takes advantage of lower costs for power and cooling during overnight hours. Virtualized workloads would be shifted across data centers in different time zones to capture savings from off-peak utility rates. Cool!

Data Center Knowledge