Mark Zuckerberg reveals how Facebook uses nature to keep its servers cool

In a series of photos, Zuckerberg shares information about some new technologies being employed by Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg has given a sneak peek into the advanced technology Facebook employs.

In a series of photos posted on Facebook, Zuckerberg shared information about some of the new technologies Facebook has been building, starting with a look at one of its data centres in Europe.

The shared photos are from Facebook's facility in Luleå, Sweden. He writes, "It's a key part of our global infrastructure, and it uses a variety of local natural resources to increase efficiency and save power."



These enormous fans draw in the outside air to cool the tens of thousands of servers in the data hall. In the winter, when temperatures plunge to -30 degrees the situation is reversed, and the heat from the servers warm the massive buildings  PHOTO: FACEBOOK/ MARK ZUCKERBERG

Zuckerberg goes on to explain,“The temperature in the area is below 50 degrees most days, so we use large fans to pull in the outside air to naturally cool the thousands of warm servers that line the centre’s broad hallways. A dozen hydro-electric plants operate on nearby rivers, providing a reliable and renewable power source. The whole system is 10% more efficient and uses almost 40% less power than traditional data centers.”



Luleå is a small coastal town just south of the Arctic Circle, and near the top of the world. It’s surrounded by dense forests and icy rivers.  PHOTO: FACEBOOK/MARK ZUCKERBERG

Zuckerberg's post showcases one of the ways Facebook deals with the persistent problem of data-centre cooling. Data centers consume vast amounts of energy, and much of that is given off as waste heat.

The main data hall is so big that engineers move around on scooters.PHOTO: FACEBOOK/MARK ZUCKERBERG

Facebook isn't the first to use a natural environment to keep its processors cool. Microsoft has been testing an underwater data centre that uses seawater as a coolant.

About 150 people work here, but the data halls are frequently empty. Because of the simplified design, we need only one technician for every 25,000 servers  PHOTO: FACEBOOK/ MARK ZUCKERBERG

This article originally appeared on Mashable.