WORLD SUPERCOMPUTING

Cooling starts with a boundary.

A World Supercomputing research note · 9 November 2026

FACILITIES

Read the context.

PUE compares total facility energy with IT energy for the same scope and period. It is not a measure of scientific usefulness or the efficiency of an algorithm.

Vendor cooling portfolios show several ways to remove heat, including direct-to-component, full-system and liquid-assisted approaches. A heat-capture percentage does not translate directly into a fixed site-wide energy saving.

The Facility Planner keeps average IT load, peak installed load, facility overhead and period energy separate. It makes no water, carbon, utility-cost or heat-reuse claim without the corresponding site evidence.

Use it in the next discussion

  • Name the metering boundary and period.
  • Check residual air heat, power distribution and cooling-water conditions.
  • Measure useful work as well as facility overhead.

PRIMARY SOURCES · CHECKED 9 NOVEMBER 2026

Lenovo: Neptune liquid cooling →Undated product page; checked 2026-11-09 · Vendor portfolio description. Heat-capture and savings claims depend on configuration and baseline.

LBNL-hosted Green Grid: PUE examination →2012, version 6 · PUE = total facility energy / IT energy within the same boundary and period. Does not measure useful scientific output.

LBNL: data-centre assessment tools →Checked 2026-11-09 · Early-stage profiling tools support assessment, not an investment-grade design or site survey.