Air Control Solutions

Products for Air Control Solutions

Air Plug Air Blanking Panel Air Disrupter Air Curtains/Panels/

Air Cap Air Door Air Frame Air Booth Air Extension Air Grille

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Flooded Data CenterData Center with Air Flow Management

Hot or Cold Aisle Containment?

Use the natural properties of airflow■Cold air requires containment■Hot air naturally rises■Both hot air and cold air must be managed

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Fact: Flood cooling is the most common approach to data center cooling

Associated issues

Temperature set points too low

Humidity set points too high

Poor airflow requires fans to run more often

Cold return air to CRAC intake reduces efficiency

Wasted rack space Waste of kW that could

be used for IT equipment

ASHRAE/Equipment manufacturers’ standards have changed

■ Operational Temperatures in Data Centers have RADICALLY CHANGED.

■ There is ABSOLUTELY NO reason to operate at 68°F to 70°F. ■ Operate data centers at temperatures at 75°F to 80°F to SAVE energy without

impacting performance.■ You are NOT at risk; industry recognized ASHRAE environmental specifications

provide a quotable source.

Psychrometric Chart

ASHRAE 2004 – RecommendedASHRAE – AllowableASHRAE 2008 Recommended

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OLD

NEW

Cooling CapacityMechanical engineers have for years seen the underutilization of the AC equipment due to low temperature and high humidity air return.

Thus a 30 ton unit will only supply 23 tons of cooling.

Containment of the supply and return airflow will greatly increase the cooling capacity of your AC units.

Thus a 30 ton unit can produce 46 tons of cooling!

Containment keeps the hot return air isolated so that the temperature of the return air at the CRAC is higher.

Hotter return air will greatly increase the AC cooling capacity.

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Benefits

Increase in temperature set point (energy $) Decrease in humidity set point (energy $) Increased cooling capacity (capital $) Increase of facility longevity (capital $) Increase of use of rack space (capital $) Fast ROI (inside of one year or less) Delay of capital expense

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Containment design lowers energy costs for cooling “Data center managers can save 4% in energy

costs for every degree of upward change in the ambient temperature.”- Mark Monroe, Director of Sustainable Computing at

Sun Microsystems

What is your set-point today?(the lower the temperature set-point the greater the potential savings)

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9000 Sq. Ft. Data Center

Cold air pumped into raised floor not rising through perforated tiles

Mixing of hot and cold air through spaces in racks and cabinets

CRAC units pulling in cold air instead of hot

Too many obstacles for good airflow

Reasons the cooling system may not be efficient

Range of Max Inlet Temp Number of Racks

Above 80° F 5

Between 75° F and 80° F 11

Between 70° F and 75° F 27

Below 70° F 62

5 are above the standard

89 are below the standard

Rack Statistics: Only 11 of the 105 racks are within the ASHRAE standard for intake temperatures

Air DisrupterTwo

common problems in data centers

Step One: Control the supply of airflow. The goal is to have 140 -160 CFM per floor tile in a cold aisle

Air Plug

Problem Solution

Step Two: Prevent supply air from flowing through the equipment racks

Problem Solution

The results:

Range of Max Inlet Temp Number of Racks(Before changes)

Number of Racks(After changes)

Above 80° F 5 0

Between 75° F and 80° F 11 1

Between 70° F and 75° F 27 4

Below 70° F 62 100

Rack Statistics: Before and After Installing Air Disrupters, Air Plugs and Air Blanking Panels

Step Three: Partition hot and cold aisles above the rack: Method 1 – Air Curtains (used for this cost analysis)

Problem Solution

Air Curtains above racks & cabinets

Note: Solution does not limit the use of overhead cable routing which is a common problem when using ducts or chimneys

Method 2 Containment:Panel Roof System

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■ UL/FM rated drop-in panels that fall in event of a fire

■ Panels are easy to remove for above rack maintenance

■ Slide rails on all four sides so as to mount vinyl for city scape, missing or short racks and/or strip doors

Method 3 Containment: The Air Cap™ Retractable Roof System

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■ Roof retracts in case of fire■ Addresses local fire code

issues by removal of burn material

■ Roof retracts for above rack maintenance

■ Slide rails on all four sides to mount vinyl curtains for cityscape, missing or short racks and/or strip doors

*This is based on calculations derived from ASHRAE formulas and September 2010 commercial power costs from the U.S. Dept. of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Turned off one CRAC unit* Approx. annual savings of $35,000

• All racks are between the 70° F and 80° F range

The results of all 3 improvements:

Name Airflow Return Temp

Supply Temp

Cooling (Tonnage) Cooling (kW)

CRAC 1 13,500 72.0 66.1 6.9 24.4

CRAC 1_1 Turned off ----- ----- ----- -----

CRAC 3 10,200 75.5 54.3 19.0 66.7

CRAC 1_2 13,500 72.0 55.3 19.9 69.9

CRAC 3_1 10,200 72.0 52.3 17.7 62.2

CRACs Cooling & Temperatures

Step Four: Add CRAC Extensions

Problem Solution

Direct hot exhaust air back to AC coil

The results:

AfterBefore

Product additions:

Step Five: Isolated equipment areas

Step Five: Full Containment

Problem Solution

Air Curtain Panels or Air Booth

Step Five: Full Containment

After

Before

Rack Statistics: All racks are still between the 70° F and 80° F range.

Name Airflow Return Temp

Supply Temp

Cooling (Ton) Cooling (kW)

CRAC 1 13,500 73.5 53.9 25.4 89.5

CRAC 1_1 Turned off ----- ----- ----- -----

CRAC 3 10,200 78.0 60.8 16.9 59.5

CRAC 1_2 Turned off ----- ----- ----- -----

CRAC 3_1 10,200 78.0 56.6 21.1 80.4

CRACs Cooling & Temperatures