Server rack fuel cell

摘要

Computing devices receive power from multiple fuel cells, consuming natural gas and outputting electrical energy natively consumable by the computing devices. The fuel cells are sized to provide power to a set of computing devices, such as a rack thereof. The computing devices of a failed fuel cell can receive power from adjacent fuel cells. Additionally, the fuel cells and computing devices are positioned to realize thermal symbiotic efficiencies. Controllers instruct the computing devices to deactivate or throttle down power consuming functions during instances where the power consumption demand is increasing faster than the power being sourced by fuel cells, and instruct the computing devices to activate or throttle up power consuming functions during instances where the power consumption demand is decreasing faster than the power being sourced by the fuel cells. Supplemental power sources, supplementing the fuel cells' inability to quickly change power output, are not required.

主权项

1. A system comprising:
a fuel cell consuming a fuel and outputting an electrical power to one or more computing devices that consume the electrical power; a valve controlling a quantity of the fuel being provided to the fuel cell; and a fuel cell controller performing steps comprising:
instructing the valve to decrease the quantity of fuel being provided to the fuel cell in response to decreasing processing by the one or more computing devices;detecting a surge condition by determining that the electrical power that is output by the fuel cell is decreasing, in response to the decreased quantity of fuel being provided to the fuel cell, less quickly than a corresponding decrease in the electrical power that is being consumed by the one or more computing devices, due to the decreasing processing, thereby resulting in a voltage surge beyond a threshold amount in the electrical power being provided to the one or more computing devices to the detriment of the one or more computing devices; andperforming, in response to the detecting the surge condition, surge-relieving actions until the surge condition is no longer detected, the surge-relieving actions comprising at least one of: increasing operation of one or more cooling apparatus of the one or more computing devices, throttling up one or more processors of the one or more computing devices, requesting additional processing work to be performed by the one or more computing devices, and increasing execution of low-priority tasks by the one or more computing devices.