Comparison of Energy Consumption of Air Cooling and Air-Liquid Hybrid Cooling in Data Centers

LI Yuting; LI Zhiyang; ZHANG Runjie; TAO Wenquan

doi:10.7652/xjtuxb202511006

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Comparison of Energy Consumption of Air Cooling and Air-Liquid Hybrid Cooling in Data Centers

Special Topic Energy Saving and Low-Carbon Technologies in Data Centers | 更新时间：2025-11-11

- Comparison of Energy Consumption of Air Cooling and Air-Liquid Hybrid Cooling in Data Centers
- Journal of Xi'an Jiaotong University Vol. 59, Issue 11, Pages: 63-72(2025)
- 作者机构：
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
- DOI：10.7652/xjtuxb202511006
  CLC： TB61+1;TB69
- Received：07 May 2025，
  
  Published：10 November 2025
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LI Yuting, LI Zhiyang, ZHANG Runjie, et al. Comparison of Energy Consumption of Air Cooling and Air-Liquid Hybrid Cooling in Data Centers[J]. Journal of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 2025, 59(11): 63-72.
DOI：

LI Yuting, LI Zhiyang, ZHANG Runjie, et al. Comparison of Energy Consumption of Air Cooling and Air-Liquid Hybrid Cooling in Data Centers[J]. Journal of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 2025, 59(11): 63-72. DOI： 10.7652/xjtuxb202511006.

摘要

针对数据中心新型冷却方式与传统冷却方式能耗差异的问题，建立了数据中心的能源利用模型，详细介绍了服务器和冷却系统的关键部件及一维和三维耦合的建模方法，对服务器空气冷却和风-液混合冷却的系统部件进行了能耗分析。其中，空气冷却代表了传统的冷却方式，风-液混合冷却是面向高功率服务器的新型冷却方式。在服务器部件尺寸、芯片功率和芯片最高温度相同的前提下，对两种冷却方式的结果进行比较分析，以量化能源消耗方面的差异。计算结果显示：相较于传统的空气冷却，混合冷却总能耗降低16.19%；混合冷却主要降低了冷水机组压缩机和服务器风扇的能耗；混合冷却中由于液冷系统部分没有空气-水换热器，不仅简化了系统，还进一步提高了数据中心一次冷却侧和二次冷却侧的热量传递效率。研究说明风-液混合冷却在降低能源消耗方面具有明显优势。

Abstract

To address the energy consumption differences between new and traditional cooling methods in data centers

this study establishes an energy utilization model for data centers

provides a detailed overview of the key components of servers and cooling systems

as well as one-dimensional and threedimensional coupling modeling methods

performs an in-depth energy consumption analysis of air cooling and air-liquid hybrid cooling system components. Air cooling represents the traditional cooling method

while air-liquid hybrid cooling is a new cooling approach aimed at high-power servers. Under the condition that the dimensions of the server components

chip power

and maximum chip temperature are the same

a comparative analysis of the results from the two cooling methods is conducted to quantify the differences in energy consumption. The calculation results indicate that

compared to traditional air cooling

hybrid cooling reduces total energy consumption by 16.19%；hybrid cooling mainly lowers the energy consumption of chiller compressors and server fans. Additionally

due to the absence of an air-water heat exchanger in the liquid cooling system in the case of the hybrid cooling method

the system is simplified and can further enhance the heat transfer efficiency of both the primary and secondary cooling sides of the data center. The air-liquid hybrid cooling method demonstrates a significant advantage in reducing energy consumption.

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references

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LI Yuting

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Related Institution

Xi'an key laboratory of energy-saving and low-carbon technology of data centers, key laboratory of thermo-fluid science and engineering, ministry of education, school of energy & power engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University

School of Electrical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University

State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi'an Jiaotong University

School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Tianjin University

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