Data centers: absolute safety with the added constraint of reduced energy consumption IN THE SPOTLIGHT As critical infrastructure at the heart of the digital economy, data centers must balance three inseparable requirements: uninterrupted technical performance, maximum safety, and energy efficiency, which is now closely scrutinized. Their rapid growth, driven by cloud computing and artificial intelligence, is accompanied by high electricity consumption, making energy management a strategic as well as an environmental issue. Continuity of operations – the famous 100% uptime – requires extremely reliable buildings and components. Thermal management is one of the major challenges: servers generate intense heat that must be continuously dissipated to keep within strict operating ranges. This constraint shapes the design of server rooms, which are organized into secure compartments isolated by high-performance fire protection systems capable of containing a disaster without hindering cooling flows. Fire safety is paramount: high fire resistance, rigorous treatment of cable ducts, and robust materials determine the resilience of the entire structure. At the same time, pressure from the major operators is accelerating the transition to more energy-efficient solutions: low-carbon materials, more efficient cooling systems, waste heat recovery, and carbon reporting requirements are becoming standard practice. In data centers, safety, performance, and energy efficiency are no longer mutually exclusive: they form a single foundation that is essential to digital sustainability. 93 92
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTA2Nw==