Meta: In a water reduction effort, Meta increases server room temperatures to 90 degrees F

Meta (formerly Facebook) has announced that in an effort reduce its water consumption to become water-positive,  it has increased its server rooms' temperature by five degrees to 90°F (32.2°C). This was first announced at the 7×24 Exchange Fall Conference, and first implemented at one data center, with a view to rolling this out to its wider portfolio. 

This new water reduction effort aligns with the company's goal to become water positive by 2030. It's worth noting that Meta consumed 2.57 million cubic meters of water during 2021, an increase of 16.67% over 2021, so achieving this goal will be no small feat and certainly be accompanied by challenges. 

Speaking to Data Center Frontier (DCF) about this project, James Monahan, data center facilities engineering director for Meta, said: "We have a ruthless focus on reducing our water usage. Being water positive means we are going to restore more water back to the environment than we consume." According to the giant, increasing the temperatures in server rooms means that less water is required for cooling, and lower humidity reduces water consumption; overall, it is believed that the move will save millions of gallons of water each year. 

Krishna Somayajula, Data Centers Facilities Lead, Mechanical Engineering at Meta, commented: "We're pushing our infrastructure in a safe, data-guided [manner]." Adding: "We are closely tracking the failure and ticket rates (on the temperature change) to determine the impact before we make a decision."