45°C cooling design cuts data center water use to near zero
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NVIDIA's 45°C liquid cooling eliminates fans and cuts data center water use to near zero.
NVIDIA's Rubin AI servers run cooling liquid at up to 45°C, enabling 100% liquid cooling with no fans. The closed-loop system uses dry coolers instead of evaporative cooling, reducing water consumption from 2.6 million gallons per megawatt per year to near zero. Cooling historically accounts for up to 40% of data center electricity use; raising chiller temperature by 1°C cuts cooling energy costs by 4%. A 50-megawatt facility could save over $4 million annually. The architecture allows chiller-less operation in favorable climates and supports waste heat recovery for district heating.
What commenters are saying
Commenters broadly see the efficiency gains as positive but raise two concerns. First, the waste heat must go somewhere: local microclimates may warm, though reduced total energy use lessens the impact. Second, noise from outdoor dry coolers and pumps could still be an issue for neighbors. Some note synergy with district heating at 45°C, especially in cold climates, but question summer heat storage and property value impacts. A few criticize the blog post as AI-written, reflecting broader unease about displacing human labor.