Singapore launches liquid cooling standard for data centres in tropical climate

Singapore launched Singapore Standard (SS) 726, a new liquid cooling standard for data centres in tropical climates, developed by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) through the Singapore Standards Council. The standard addresses challenges like equipment corrosion from high temperatures and humidity, and recommends best practices for water use, as liquid cooling can reduce data centre energy consumption by more than 30 percent. IMDA deputy chief executive Aileen Chia said liquid cooling is increasingly important to support higher power densities required for AI and advanced computing workloads.

Singapore launches liquid cooling standard for data centres in tropical climate It accounts for the challenges presented by high temperatures and humidity, such as equipment corrosion SINGAPORE Singapore has launched a new standard for data centres on adopting liquid cooling technologies in tropical areas – as demand for artificial intelligence https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/ai-demand-support-growth-asean3-region-amid-middle-east-headwinds-amro workloads grows across South-east Asia. The move follows the Republic’s latest award of 200 megawatts in new data capacity https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/digital-realty-stt-gdc-among-data-centre-operators-awarded-50-mw-new-capacity-singapore , and comes amid growing concerns about these facilities’ large energy and water consumption https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/south-east-asia-seeks-data-centre-investments-must-reckon-their-thirst . The new standard – dubbed the Singapore Standard SS 726 – builds on existing international standards for liquid cooling, while accounting for operational conditions in tropical climates. It also recommends best practices on measuring and optimising water use, said the Infocomm Media Development Authority IMDA and Enterprise Singapore EnterpriseSG in a Thursday Aug 27 press release. Both agencies developed SS 726 through the Singapore Standards Council, in consultation with industry players and experts. Unlike traditional air cooling, liquid cooling uses fluids to transfer heat from hardware chips, reducing energy consumption at the data centre level by more than 30 per cent. “However, tropical conditions such as high temperatures and humidity present additional challenges, including equipment corrosion, which can affect cooling efficiency and reliability,” IMDA and EnterpriseSG noted. The standard addresses these issues with technical guidelines to design and deploy liquid cooling systems, manage potential risks, and integrate liquid cooling with existing air-cooled data centres. IMDA deputy chief executive Aileen Chia said that liquid cooling is “increasingly important to support the higher power densities required for AI and other advanced computing workloads”. The authorities will continue to work with partners to “push the boundaries for data centre energy efficiency”, she added. As part of a move towards green data centres, Singapore had also previously launched the Tropical Data Centre standard and the Energy Efficiency of Data Centre IT Equipment standard. Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free. Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved. TRENDING NOW /pulse?ref=trending-now Stocks to watch: Frencken, Seatrium Mizuho files Singapore court case against Radiant World in first public lender action: Bloomberg Singapore cannot assume economic growth will create as many jobs amid AI shift: Gan Kim Yong NDR 2026: Singapore to create new Western island to support 'new generation of industries'