What it is
Watching Power, Cooling and Water in Real Time
Facility monitoring software watches every breaker, chiller, pump and sensor in the building.
- Three systems: data center infrastructure management (DCIM) tracks assets and capacity; an electrical power monitoring system (EPMS) watches the power chain; a building management system (BMS) runs the mechanical plant.
- Liquid cooling adds sensors: leak detectors on cold plates and manifolds, filter pressure at coolant distribution units, and fluid chemistry. Nvidia's Mission Control reads these through each node and marks a node down after a leak timeout.
- AI control: Google and others let software adjust cooling setpoints directly. Phaidra, founded by members of Google's DeepMind cooling team, raised $120 million with Nvidia participating.
Software layers and vendors are covered in Software Stack.
Flagship
Google's AI Cooling Control
- 2016: DeepMind's model cut cooling energy by up to 40% in trials at Google data centers.
- 2018: Google handed control to the system. Savings started near 12% and averaged about 30% within nine months.
- How: every five minutes it takes a snapshot from thousands of sensors and proposes actions; operator limits, confidence checks and a local controller veto keep it within safe bounds.
Water laws
States Now Require Water and Energy Reports
- Utah HB 76: since July 2026, new data centers using 75 acre-feet a year or more must report withdrawals, which are made public.
- New Jersey: a law signed August 2026 requires water and energy reports every six months, with no size threshold; first reports were due November 2026.
- California: a seven-bill package signed September 2026 requires energy, water, PUE and WUE reporting from 2027.
- Virginia: HB 496 requires data center water-use reporting.
- Pending: bills in Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Systems
Monitoring Systems
| System | What it watches | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| DCIM | Tracks IT and facility assets, space, power and capacity | Schneider EcoStruxure, Vertiv, Sunbird, Nlyte |
| EPMS | Watches the power chain from utility to rack | Schneider, Eaton, Siemens |
| BMS | Runs chillers, air handlers, pumps and coolant units | Siemens Desigo, Johnson Controls Metasys, Honeywell |
| Liquid leak detection | Cold-plate and manifold sensors; rack isolation | Nvidia Mission Control reads node and building leak data |
| AI cooling control | Adjusts cooling setpoints from sensor data | Google DeepMind; Phaidra ($120M raised); Siemens WSCO (formerly Vigilent) |
| Water reporting laws | Withdrawals, sources and efficiency metrics | Utah, Virginia, New Jersey, California; 10 more states pending |
Record
Dataset Record
- Dataset
- Facility monitoring systems, AI cooling control and water reporting laws
- Sources
- Google, DeepMind, Phaidra via GeekWire, Siemens, Nvidia Mission Control documentation, Day Pitney, Greenberg Traurig, Utah Division of Water Rights, Babst Calland, Caltech
- Last verified
- October 2026