178 The Green and Virtual Data Center
Research is being done into microcooling using small plumbing tubes
(about the size of a human hair) to direct coolant flow between various lay-
ers of a processor chip in order to remove heat as close to the source as pos-
sible. The intent is to maximize cooling efficiency, which, in many
environments, is a major source of energy consumption. The more energy
that can be saved while providing more effective and efficient cooling, the
more cost savings will be seen in less energy being used, less carbon impact,
or, for many environments, more electrical power to be used elsewhere to
enable the addition of faster servers to sustain business growth.
Given the large amount of energy used to power and cool servers, the ...