Singapore conducts pilot testing of world’s first Tropical Data Centre

The centre could cut energy use by 40%.

The city-state takes another great leap as part of its smart nation drive as it trials the first-ever tropical data centre (TDC) to drive innovation and explore new green data centre technologies.

According to a press release by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), it will set up a data centre and operate it in a tropical environment to test its feasibility.

“The proof-of-concept would aim to prove, among others, whether data centres can function optimally at temperatures of up to 38 degrees Celsius and ambient humidity up to or exceeding 90 percent,” the press release said.

The trial aims to determine how data service react under tropical conditions and live situations such as peak surges or transferring of data, and in diverse conditions, such as with no temperature or humidity controls, IDA said.

“If successful, the TDC could significantly reduce global energy consumption by data centres by allowing for higher operating temperatures and humidity levels. Data centres are currently cooled to between 20 to 25 degrees Celsius and kept to within 50 to 60 percent relative ambient humidity for safety,” the press release added.