Technologies

Abstract/Technology Overview

The technology utilises a dry cooler instead of a cooling tower with computer room air conditioning (CRAC), eliminating the usage of the chiller and CRAC unit. This can significantly reduce the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and achieve ultra-low PUE for data centres. Additionally, the targeted liquid cooling helps to improve cooling efficiency and the advanced control and system management technologies enables the system to be energy efficient. There is lesser emphasis on environmental cooling device which reduces the fan size and allows for higher operating temperature of the fluid.

Technology Features, Specifications and Advantages

Technology Benefits

• Fully-functional in high temperature and humidity environment due to the effectiveness of liquid cooling
• Eliminate the usage of the chiller and CRAC unit. According to ASHRAE thermal guidelines, the operational conditions can be up to 45°C
• With the elimination of raised flooring (supply air) and overhead plenum (return air), the height of conventional racks can increase (Beyond 47U)
• Ultra-high density server racks can be integrated to maximize the total number of servers per square metre

Potential Applications

There are a few potential applications of this technology for data centres:

• High ambient temperature data centre
• High performance computing (HPC)  
• Greenfield/Brownfield data centre

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Customer Benefit

The technology helps to lower total cost of ownership as both Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and Operational Expenditure (OPEX) is significantly reduced for the following reasons:

• CAPEX
  • Removal of chiller and CRAC units.
  • Reduction in the construction cost: Elimination of overhead plenum and raised floor.
• OPEX
  • Massive reductions in energy usage due to the elimination of the chiller system. Aside of that, fan energy usage is also kept at minimum level.
• Ultra High Density Racks: Leads to more servers per rack for the same footprint area.
  • Elimination of overhead plenum and raised floor leads to more real estate for taller server racks, e.g. 60U. Thus, data centre can achieve higher floating point operations per second for HPC servers and higher storage capacity for data storage servers.