Power Density

Power density measures the electrical power consumed per unit of data centre floor space, typically expressed as kilowatts per rack (kW/rack) or watts per square foot. Traditional enterprise data centres operate at 5-10kW per rack. GPU infrastructure has pushed densities to 40-120kW per rack, with next-generation systems trending higher. The DGX B200 system draws 14.3kW for 8 GPUs — a rack of four such systems exceeds 60kW before accounting for networking and storage. Power density determines the physical footprint, cooling requirements, and electrical infrastructure needed for GPU deployments.

High power density creates cascading infrastructure requirements. Electrical distribution must support higher amperage per circuit. Cooling systems must remove proportionally more heat from a smaller area — driving the transition to liquid cooling. Structural floors must support heavier equipment and liquid cooling infrastructure. Power distribution units (PDUs) and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) must be sized accordingly. Many existing data centres cannot achieve the power densities required for GPU clusters without significant retrofit investment.

Power density capability is a primary screening criterion in our data centre assessments. Many facilities marketed as "AI-ready" cannot actually deliver the power density required for modern GPU deployments. We evaluate the gap between marketed and actual capability as part of deployment advisory and due diligence.