Researchers in Sweden believe nanotechnology could be used in computer servers to reduce their carbon footprint.
According to CNN, experts at the country’s Institute of Technology have discovered a way to improve cooling efficiency among server racks using nanoparticles.
When added to water, they create a fluid that is able to conduct heat 60 per cent more effectively than normal cooling fluids.
The team claim their discovery will have clear business benefits as well as environmental ones.
“Companies will be saving the cost of cooling,” explained researcher Mamoun Muhammed. “Secondly, their electronics will function better at lower temperatures, and thirdly, it is greener technology, we are using less energy.”
He suggested that nanofluid could be used to cool data centres on a commercial scale within the next three to seven years.
Research carried out by IT analyst Gartner in 2007 showed that data centres account for around one quarter of all global CO2 emissions from IT.