Our Tier 2 Super-Computer, Bede, handles a lot of computationally intensive projects, so it can consume a lot of energy. It is important to minimise the cost to the environment and continuously look for solutions that help Bede to be sustainable.
Bede is located in a data centre that uses water-based cooling, specifically rear-door heat exchangers. Water is far more efficient than air at transferring heat, so water-based cooling saves us about 2/3 of the energy required to cool the data centre compared to traditional air-conditioner cooling systems. The efficiency of the system could be improved further by reusing the waste heat carried by the water. This could reduce energy usage elsewhere.
Provision of a shared machine like Bede permits effective use of physical resources, allowing individual research projects to avoid buying dedicated equipment to meet their short-term or intermittent needs. Bede also contributes to sustainability by supporting research projects in areas such as the wind power industry, environmental modelling, deforestation detection, and battery materials.
Check out more information about Bede and how to apply to use it.