The shift towards sustainability in U.S. manufacturing has become not just a matter of compliance...
Copper plays a crucial role in the operation and efficiency of data centers, particularly in power distribution and thermal management. Data centers provide businesses and consumers with seamless connectivity, storage, and processing power. To keep up with the increasing demands of cloud computing, AI, and big data, these facilities must prioritize optimal performance, energy efficiency, and reliability. At the heart of these operations lies copper, which supports many vital data center infrastructure components. Renowned for its superior conductivity and durability, copper enables efficient and safe power distribution and enhances cooling system performance. By utilizing copper-based technologies, data centers can achieve greater efficiency, safety, reduced downtime, and scalable performance to tackle future challenges.
Copper’s Role in Data Centers
Copper’s superior electrical performance makes it an indispensable material for modern data center equipment. Its unmatched electrical conductivity allows for efficient power transmission with minimal energy loss, helping facilities operate more cost-effectively over time. With lower resistance, copper minimizes energy losses during distribution, contributing to long-term savings.
Copper’s reliability is further demonstrated in components of power distribution systems, where copper busbars ensure stable power flow and robust grounding systems minimize the risk of downtime. Additionally, copper’s high load capacity enables it to support the demands of high-density servers and expanding infrastructures, ensuring data centers can scale efficiently to meet growing power needs.
How Copper Outperforms Alternatives in Data Centers
Copper stands out in key areas critical to data center performance, offering superior electrical and thermal conductivity, durability, resilience, and sustainability.
- Electrical Conductivity
- Copper has nearly 60% higher electrical conductivity than cost-competitive alternatives, reducing energy losses while keeping package space minimal.
- This makes copper more efficient for long-term operations, lowering electricity costs over time.
- Thermal Performance
- Copper’s high thermal conductivity makes it ideal for heat exchangers and cooling systems. It dissipates heat more effectively than alternative materials.
- In cooling-intensive environments, this helps maintain optimal temperatures and enhances equipment lifespan.
- Durability and Reliability
- Copper is more resistant to corrosion and mechanical wear than alternatives, ensuring long-lasting performance.
- Its strength allows it to handle high electrical loads without degrading, providing better stability under stress.
- Its low thermal expansion characteristics enable simple fasteners, which are proven not to loosen torque over time, improving system and maintenance costs and reliability.
- Higher Load Capacity
- Copper busbars and cables support higher currents without the need for oversized components, unlike aluminum, which requires thicker cables to achieve the same performance.
- Sustainability and Recycling
- Copper is 100% recyclable without performance loss, supporting circular economy efforts and reducing environmental impact.
- Recycled content in copper products enables reduced carbon footprint opportunities.
Sustainability in Data Centers
Sustainability has become a focus for data centers as they seek to address their substantial power demands and their impact on the environment. With an increasing push for greener operations, many facilities are exploring renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, and microgrids, to power their operations. Additionally, data centers invest in alternative backup power solutions, like large battery energy storage systems, to ensure reliability without relying solely on traditional diesel generators. As these centers strive for greater sustainability, their materials are scrutinized, particularly regarding their carbon footprint.
Copper is vital in these sustainability efforts, offering significant advantages over other materials. It promotes higher efficiency systems, allowing for more compact designs that reduce energy consumption. Moreover, copper generally has a lower embodied carbon footprint due to its mining and processing requirements, making it a more environmentally friendly choice. The emphasis on using recycled copper further enhances its appeal, as it minimizes waste and reduces the energy needed for production.
Copper parts can be made from more than 95% of recycled material without any loss in performance. By prioritizing copper in their infrastructure, data centers can improve operational efficiency while actively contributing to broader sustainability goals.
Distribution of Copper in Data Centers
Power distribution systems claim 75% of the total copper content in data centers. It's a key material in components like busbars, connectors, and circuit breakers, facilitating efficient and reliable power management. Copper busbars are instrumental in distributing electrical power throughout data centers, reducing energy loss, ensuring consistent voltage levels, and maintaining tight, efficient electrical connections. Connectors, vital for linking power sources to equipment, benefit from copper's low resistance and high durability, guaranteeing secure, effective connections. Copper's conductive properties make it ideal for circuit breakers, offering dependable protection against overloads and short circuits. Its corrosion resistance contributes to the enhanced durability and safety of these components.
Grounding and interconnection systems account for 22% of the overall copper content in a data center. Copper is commonly used in grounding rods and electrodes, which connect the electrical system to the earth, helping to dissipate electrical surges and prevent equipment damage. Copper wires serve as grounding conductors, offering a low-resistance path for fault currents and protecting personnel and equipment from electrical shocks. Grounding busbars made from copper allow multiple systems to connect to a common grounding point, ensuring adequate grounding throughout the facility.
Overall copper content in data center systems.
Regarding interconnection systems, copper is used in data and power cables to link servers, switches, and other networking equipment. Copper connections in patch panels facilitate the organization of these interconnections, while connector blocks provide secure links between various components.
Plumbing and HVAC systems account for approximately 3% of the overall copper content in data centers, highlighting the material's importance beyond electrical applications. Copper is utilized in plumbing for water supply and drainage systems, ensuring reliable and efficient water flow for cooling processes. In HVAC systems, copper pipes, and coils are essential for heat exchange, facilitating effective temperature control and air circulation within the data center. This use of copper enhances the efficiency of cooling systems and contributes to the overall sustainability of data center operations by promoting effective thermal management.
What makes copper so effective in data center systems?
Framework for Efficiency and Sustainability
In the Digital Age, copper has become an increasingly vital material for a wide range of consumer electronics. As technology progresses quickly, the demand for copper in devices like smartphones, computers, TVs, audio equipment, gaming consoles, small appliances, and other connected gadgets has grown significantly.
Copper has proven to be the most recyclable and highest-performing material for these devices. Its exceptional ability to be recycled repeatedly without diminishing its quality and performance makes it a preferred material for use in the production of consumer electronics, supporting the sustainability of these devices through multiple life cycles.
The miniaturization of electronics also contributes to the rising demand for copper. As product sizes become smaller, using copper in compact designs enables maximum functionality. Copper's strong electrical conductivity and thermal management capabilities make it an essential material for enabling the compact, high-performance designs of modern consumer electronics and mobile devices.
Watch our recent on-demand webinar with Design World here to learn more about why copper is key to a carbon-free future. We cover copper’s essential properties, the U.S.'s position in the global copper network, and the expanding markets driving demand.
