Evaporative cooling remains the dominant method for managing heat in data centers, despite growing concerns over its heavy water consumption. While alternatives like liquid cooling offer greater sustainability, industry adoption has been slow, driven by cost, energy constraints, and scalability challenges.
The technology, which cools facilities by evaporating water through membranes, is energy-efficient but requires millions of gallons of water daily—equivalent to the usage of thousands of households. This demand strains local water supplies, particularly in regions facing shortages, and raises environmental risks from runoff pollution. Yet, evaporative systems persist due to their low operational costs and reliability.
Why evaporative cooling still dominates
Evaporative cooling’s cost advantage is a key factor in its continued use. Installation and operating expenses are significantly lower than those of alternatives like mechanical refrigeration or liquid cooling. For example, evaporative systems cost roughly $0.80 per megawatt-hour of IT load in water expenses, while liquid cooling can require up to $5 million per megawatt for installation—more than double the cost. Retrofitting existing facilities further amplifies these expenses, making operators hesitant to switch.
Energy availability also plays a role. Data centers already face grid constraints, and electricity-intensive cooling methods exacerbate power demands. While water shortages are a concern, they have not yet reached a critical threshold in most regions to justify the higher energy costs of alternatives. Additionally, evaporative systems scale more easily than mechanical refrigeration, which struggles to meet the cooling needs of large facilities.
Background: Evaporative cooling uses water evaporation to dissipate heat, reducing reliance on electricity compared to traditional air conditioning. Liquid cooling, an emerging alternative, circulates non-conductive fluids through servers or submerges equipment in liquid, improving energy and water efficiency but at a higher upfront cost.
The rise of liquid cooling
Liquid cooling is the most promising alternative, with adoption projected to reach 50% of new data center installations by 2031. Its efficiency in handling high-density computing, particularly for AI workloads, has accelerated its growth. However, barriers remain: high installation costs, operational complexity, and limited scalability for large deployments. Free cooling—using outdoor air—is another option but is geographically limited to cooler climates.
What’s next for data center cooling
The industry’s shift away from evaporative cooling will likely be gradual. While liquid cooling’s efficiency and sustainability advantages are clear, cost and scalability concerns will keep evaporative systems in use for the foreseeable future. Operators may adopt hybrid approaches, combining evaporative and liquid cooling to balance performance and resource use. Regulatory pressures and water scarcity could also accelerate change, particularly in drought-prone regions.
For professionals: Data center operators should evaluate liquid cooling for high-density workloads, particularly in new builds, while weighing long-term water savings against upfront costs. Retrofitting existing facilities may require phased adoption or hybrid solutions to mitigate financial and operational risks.
Automated pipeline · Cloud & Infrastructure
Synthesized from 1 industry feed on 19 Jun 2026. Passed independent editor verification (score 85/100) before publication. Style guide v1.3.
Sources
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- Checking for duplicates — Deduped batch of 1 candidates
- Checking for duplicates — New story No recent or in-pipeline article covers evaporative cooling in data centers.
- Checking for duplicates — New story pre_write:; No recent or in-pipeline article covers evaporative cooling trends in data centers.
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Editor review — Approved
- Score: 85/100
- Factual grounding: The claim 'liquid cooling can require up to $5 million per megawatt for installation—more than double the cost' is supported by the source but lacks the context that this applies specifically to immersion cooling and retrofitting may cost even more. While not materially false, the phrasing could be more precise.
- Factual grounding: The projection 'adoption projected to reach 50% of new data center installations by 2031' is supported by the source, but the source states 'within the next five years' from a June 2026 publication date, which could imply 2031 or earlier. The specific year 2031 is not explicitly stated in the source, though it is a reasonable interpretation.
- Style compliance: The body length (680 words) is within the 300-700 word range but leans toward the upper limit. Given the source material's depth, this is acceptable, but the draft could be tightened slightly to avoid redundancy in the 'Why evaporative cooling still dominates' section.
- No copied phrasing: The Background block closely echoes the source's explanation of evaporative and liquid cooling. While the facts are correct, the phrasing is too similar to the source's 'Evaporative cooling systems work by...' and 'Liquid cooling... circulates non-conductive fluids...'. Restructuring would improve originality.
- Style compliance: The 'For professionals' callout is well-justified, but the Background block could be omitted as it largely restates source material without adding new context. This is optional per style guide, but the draft would be stronger without it.
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