Is the cost of liquid cooling data center high?



The maintenance cost of liquid cooling data center is indeed higher than traditional air cooling in terms of initial and routine expenses, but from a full lifecycle perspective, its significant energy-saving benefits and extended equipment life often offset or even exceed this investment, achieving lower total cost of ownership (TCO). Whether it is "high" needs to be judged comprehensively based on the technical route and operation cycle.

Why is it considered 'not expensive' in the long run? Three major economic advantages

Significant savings in electricity bills

Liquid cooled PUE can be reduced to 1.03-1.25, with an average annual energy savings of 20% -40% compared to air-cooled (PUE ≈ 1.5). A 100MW project has an annual electricity cost savings of over 5 million yuan (electricity price of 0.6 yuan/kWh).

https://www.kaytus.com/solutions/liquid-cooling/

Extended lifespan of equipment

Accurate temperature control reduces thermal stress on server components, lowers failure rates by 40%, and reduces maintenance costs by 30% -50%.

Space and infrastructure optimization

Eliminate the need for air conditioning systems and save space; High density deployment enhances computing power per unit area and indirectly reduces unit costs.

How to control maintenance costs? key strategy

Choose the right technical route: prioritize cold plate in low to medium density scenarios, with a payback period of about 2-3 years; AI/GPU high-density scenes can be immersed, with a 5-year TCO advantage.

Adopting leak proof design, such as the "three-layer sealing+pressure warning" scheme, leakage incidents are reduced by 70%, and the average annual risk cost of a single cabinet is reduced from thousands of yuan to hundreds of yuan.

Promote localization substitution: The cost of domestically produced cold plates has been reduced by 40%, and the price of silicon-based coolant has been lowered from 400000/ton to 150000/ton, significantly reducing material expenses.

Introducing AI operation and maintenance: Real time monitoring of particulate matter and pressure changes, achieving fault warning, and avoiding downtime losses (financial data centers lose up to $120000 per hour in a single shutdown).