myvo
905
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https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/uk-government-inexplicably-tells-citizens-to-delete-old-emails-and-pictures-to-save-water-during-national-drought-data-centres-require-vast-amounts-of-water-to-cool-their-systems
Deonan
Maybe they should have thought about a water source for the data centre BEFORE they built it?
Not just rely on clean drinking water.
madjackwastaken
The government hasn't instructed anyone to do anything. Whoever wrote that article is a moron.
BearRaid
I mean, the government guidance document does include that line right at the bottom, but it’s not like it’s been broadcasted as an emergency or anything. Still a dumbass thing to include.
pyr0max
Without having read the article: Most heat comes from (active) processors (CPU's and GPU's), not storage. So the claim is not only wrong, it would be counter productive as deleting old data would involve extra processing steps, thus extra CPU usage, thus extra heat generation. The only effective advise would be to stop using all online services all together, which in the current world would mean stop using anything with a processor in it (almost anything nowadays).
IncoherentApplesauce
Question! Why do datacenters need clean potable water for cooling?
jeejeejerrycotton
It's the cheapest kind of water. (For them, that is.)
RomanValkre
Why does use for cooling destroy water... seems like a closed system would be easy.
Fhant
The internet and the data therein is thirsty. Especially Onlyfans! ....so....errr... I've heard..
Samja192
As opposed to salt water you mean? I hear salt isn't great with machines
FrogBotherer
Datacentres convert megawatts of electricity into heat, which has got to go somewhere else they'd stop being datacentres rather quickly. The *most* efficient way of doing this is with evaporative cooling towers - think those big hourglass shaped concrete things billowing steam often associated with power plants, only smaller and fan forced. The process means the cooling loop is always losing water and must be topped up.
However, most datacentres in the UK use heat pump chillers, so this is bunk
lemmonjello
Why not build wind farms and air cool them
Eyhlix
Buy gray water, treat it through reverse osmosis/ iwt