Download - Afcom air control solution presentation
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
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
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 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