Investment return period of liquid cooling gpu

Investment return period of liquid cooling gpu

The investment return period of liquid cooling gpu data centers is influenced by technology routes and power density, with the mainstream range being 1.2 to 5 years. The return period for high-density scenarios is shorter, as follows:

1. Return cycle of different technological routes

table

Technical roadmap, typical application scenarios, investment return period, core basis

The initial investment for building a two-phase liquid cooled intelligent computing center with a capacity of ≥ 100kW in 1.2 years is about 30% higher than that of single-phase liquid cooling, but it can save 113000 yuan in electricity and operation costs annually. The additional incremental investment can be recovered in only 1.2 years

Immersion liquid cooled supercomputing/high-density AI center for about 2-3 years. In ultra-high power density scenarios, electricity cost savings can quickly cover initial investment. If operated at full load for a long time, the payback period can be compressed to within 3 years

Direct chip level cold plate liquid cooled ordinary cloud computing center has a lower initial investment of about 4 years, but the energy-saving effect is weaker than immersion type, and the return period is slightly longer

Natural cooling combined with liquid cooling, low load data centers in northern China rely on natural cooling to reduce energy consumption for about 5 years, resulting in slower energy-saving benefits and the longest return period

2. General industry range

From the perspective of the entire industry, although the initial investment in liquid cooling is higher than that of traditional air cooling, considering the advantages of energy saving and operation and maintenance costs, the overall investment return period of liquid cooling gpu data centers is generally between 3 to 5 years; If deployed in high-density computing environments or in high-temperature and humid areas, the payback period can be further shortened to around 2 years.

3. Single point case verification

Based on the calculation of the Nvidia H100 GPU single rack, an additional initial investment of $30000 is required for the liquid cooling solution, which can save approximately $60000 in electricity costs over 3 years of operation, covering incremental costs. The payback period is 3 years, consistent with industry calculations.

Overall, with the continuous increase in GPU power consumption and the decrease in the cost of liquid cooling technology, the investment return cycle of liquid cooling gpu data centers is gradually shortening, and there is clear economic rationality in the ultra-high density AI scenario.