Case Studies
Data center
Beginning with the question: As data centers require expensive, heavy-duty HVAC systems to run and cool servers, is there a more energy-efficient way to cool these servers?
How does nature regulate temperature?
Preliminary research conducted in the Scoping Phase and secondary research in the Brainstorming Phase validated the decision to zero in on biological methods, modes, and mechanisms that relate to the design of HVAC systems, instead of building design and/or location. While modifications to building design and/or location provide methods of reducing the amount of energy necessary to cool, previous design projects conducted by other companies have already investigated some of these modifications and brought these to market. Our research also allowed us to see the greatest room for innovation and incorporation of Life’s Principles by zeroing in on HVAC systems to address the design challenge of managing intensive temperatures in data centers. The question we brought into the Brainstorming Phase to provide a guide for our research was: How does Nature Regulate Temperature?
The research conducted during the Brainstorming Phase began with this comprehensive and extensive question in order to investigate the deep patterns of temperature regulation found in natural models. The results demonstrated the fundamental necessity of temperature regulation for all organisms and their habitats, as an organism that is unable to regulate either the temperature of its habitat or its body will perish. Six methods of temperature regulation were identified with multiple sub-methods. The six methods can be further defined by two main categories: modification to the environment and modification to an organism’s body.
Temperature regulation for many organisms centers around their ability to dissipate body heat to water, mud, or another liquid directly around or on extremities. This method was deemed high risk as it would require electrical servers to be in contact with a liquid, and other methods discovered, such as Heat Exchangers, provided a barrier between the organism and liquid, providing a safer and just as effective process to emulate. The brainstorming was narrowed to exclude organisms who cool by gular fluttering, panting, sweating, evaporative cooling, and convection to water/mud.
Infinite Cooling
Infinite cooling is an organization that was formed in 2017 with Maher Damak at the forefront writing his thesis on water scarcity and working with a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As a company, they developed a retrofit innovation that is designed to function from the top of the cooling towers to collect water vapor from the plumes or water lost through evaporative cooling.
Inspiration from Darkling beetle water collection in arid regions
This design includes two major parts that work together: a charging component and a collection component. Wire mesh collects about 99% of the water vapor from the cooling tower due to water polarity. Water is a polar molecule which means that it has one part that is negatively charged (Oxygen) and another part that is positively charged (Hydrogen) and this polarity or charge is what allows the molecule to be attracted to the mesh for collection. Collecting 99% of the plume recovers and translates to about 20-30% of evaporative cooling water loss. it also mitigates regulatory due to visibility issues with plumes by collecting the plume as ultra-pure water which is a sustainability win that impacts people, the planet, and profit. since 2017 Infinite cooling has been testing their innovation at MIT’s power plant, along with several other pilot testing sites in Massachusetts. The company has entered into partnership agreements with several power plants as they prepare for commercial launch.
This innovation is based on an emerging discipline called biomimicry where solutions can be found in nature. biomimicry looks at natural systems, processes, and forms to find solutions for human design challenges. infinite cooling’s design draws inspiration from two organisms: honeybees and the desert Namib darkling beetles. Honeybees are electrostatically charged to collect pollen passively demonstrating a life’s principle of using low-energy processes. A life’s principle is something all living organisms utilize. While the darkling beetle in the Namib desert beetle uses its shell (elytra) and body shape to channel dew into its mouth demonstrating a form that performs a specific function for survival. Honeybees collecting pollen have a positive charge from electrons while the pollen is the opposite or negative charge thus attracting the pollen.
About 39% of the clean water in the US is used by power plants cooling towers. all of the evaporated water is essentially wasted since it's not recovered Infinite cooling reduces energy costs and water consumption by offering retrofit solutions for cooling towers. This technology is ~99% effective at recovering lost water, resulting in a 20% water savings. recovered water can be reused in the power plant or sold as ultra-pure water. being able to conserve water and resell it as ultrapure water which is cleaner than drinking water making a power plant multifunctional since it’s providing power and clean water similar to a desalination plant. Clean water is projected to be another global crisis and we can benefit from this technology by reducing our unnecessary or wasteful use of water while providing solutions for clean water in regions that have water scarcity while promoting local sources of water instead of pumping water from a distant location. Another benefit to this design is that it can be retrofitted to existing towers for a lower cost rather than having to rebuild and scalability is simpler with a retrofit especially globally where standards change.
Startup Companies
A core issue Startup companies face with a crises of how to procure funding for the development of the business which is dependent partly on the fiber technologies completion. To be able to adapt to changing conditions a certain amount of capital is needed to support the business even without a fully vetted idea. Finances are both tricky and simple to evaluate since Startup companies needs to decide how Startup companies will approach acquiring funding and then pursue it. If this is dependent on an idea being presented that is fully flushed out it becomes more complicated (i.e. having a sample product to display to potential investors).
Examples of where other companies addressed such funding crises and where Startup companies may find success is as follows: charging a $20 stylist fee (StitchFix) that will be rolled over into the consumers first purchase and paying for someone to assist with styles while charging a $45 box fee (Bespoke) for each shipment of clothes which can be scales for how many items are purchased or kept at a flat fee. In this way a hybrid of a service subscription and product subscription are used taking advantage of strategies that already work.
Innovative Design Solutions, and Natural Systems
Fiber Technology – The Life Principles (LP) improvement is: Use available materials and energy because a fully vetted idea dealing with material challenges was one of the core problems or crises Startup companies face.
This means that for Startup companies to move forward further research and development on how to design the fiber for use in their hollow core is needed. For the fiber technology Startup companies can look at how nature creates fibers and how it develops them into ropelike patterns/structures. One example is spiders weave several different strands into their webs or use different silk fibers for different purposes. If Startup companies uses a 3D knitting machine and a 3D spinning machine to create their fiber from synthetic versions of natural ideas? Startup companies could even mimic how each silk fiber has a purpose such as being elastic or sticky. This can be replicated in fibers having the purpose of color, strength, and elasticity.
Well represented Life Principle:
Leveraging cyclical processes: Startup companies cycles are seasons, fashion cycles, and additional cycles represented by the BMC promoting their desire for a circular economy. This LP is interconnected with several other LP such as Recycle all materials in leveraging the cycles of fashion give surplus materials that can be now used by recycling them into other garments demonstrates the synergy of those two LPs.
Recycle all materials: Based on Startup companies planning on recycling the fibers in the clothes, the hollow tubes the fibers are within, and reducing the storage of excess materials instead of burning or adding them to landfills. Startup companies main goal is to have a closed-loop or circular economy with their fiber technology and the waste involved with the fashion/textile industry.
Improvement Opportuntity Life Principle:
Use available materials and energy: Demonstrates where there are opportunities for dealing with the material challenge of a hollow core fiber that is recyclable with the intent of changing colors. Within this challenge the ideas form is paramount since the shape dictates how it can be used. There have been challenges with the right size of hollow tube for the fiber and how to move the fiber through the tube.