Faster, more powerful and dense computing hardware generates significant heat and imposes considerable data center cooling requirements. Traditional computer room air conditioning (CRAC) cooling methods are proving increasingly cost-ineffective and inefficient. Studies show that using the volume of room air as a heat exchange medium is wasteful and allows for substantial mixing of hot and cold air. Further, it limits cabinet/frame/rack density because it cannot effectively cool high heat density equipment that is spaced closely together. A more cost-effective, efficient solution for maximizing heat transfer and enabling higher heat density equipment frames can be accomplished by utilizing properly positioned “phase change” or “two-phase” pumped refrigerant cooling methods. Pumping low-pressure oil-free phase changing refrigerant through micro-channel heat exchangers can provide up to 90% less energy consumption for the primary cooling loop within the room. Additionally, if designed properly, a refrigerant-based system can be deployed to cool existing computing equipment, in existing IT cabinets, without extensive and expensive changes to the present data-center infrastructure. The primary benefits of such a solution include reduced energy requirements, optimized utilization of data center space, and lower OPEX and CAPEX.
展开▼
