Direct evaporative cooling system for data center with fan and water optimization

Abstract

A method of controlling a cooling unit in a data center, comprising: predicting a first consumption and an energy consumption of the cooling unit based on a supply air temperature of the cooling unit; selecting a target for a characteristic of air provided from the cooling unit to an aisle of the data center based on an optimization of an objective function, the objective function comprising the first consumption and the energy consumption; and controlling an amount of airflow from the cooling unit to the aisle based on the target for the characteristic of the air provided from the cooling unit to the aisle, wherein the characteristic is not the amount of airflow. 20 26 20 53 85 07 J ul 2 02 6 A B S T R A C T 2 0 2 6 2 0 5 3 8 5 0 7 J u l 2 0 2 6

Claims

1. A method of controlling a cooling unit in a data center, comprising: predicting a first consumption and an energy consumption of the cooling unit based on a supply air temperature of the cooling unit;selecting a target for a characteristic of air provided from the cooling unit to an aisle of the data center based on an optimization of an objective function, the objective function comprising the first consumption and the energy consumption; andcontrolling an amount of airflow from the cooling unit to the aisle based on the target for the characteristic of the air provided from the cooling unit to the aisle, wherein the characteristic is not the amount of airflow.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the first consumption comprises water consumption and the water consumption comprises at least one of water that evaporates during operation of a direct evaporative cooling unit or water drained from a water tank of the direct evaporative cooling unit.

3. The method of Claim 1, wherein predicting the first consumption is based on the amount of airflow from the cooling unit to the aisle and an expected change in the characteristic of the air provided from the cooling unit to the aisle.

4. The method of Claim 1, wherein the energy consumption comprises energy consumption of a fan of the cooling unit.

5. The method of Claim 1, wherein the supply air temperature of the cooling unit is associated with bypass damper positions as a function of outside air temperature, and wherein predicting the first consumption is based on the bypass damper positions.

6. The method of Claim 1, wherein controlling the cooling unit comprises controlling a bypass damper to a position determined based on the target for the characteristic of the air provided from the cooling unit to the aisle and an outdoor air temperature.2026205385   07 Jul 20267. The method of Claim 1, wherein predicting the first consumption and the energy consumption of the cooling unit based on the supply air temperature of the cooling unit comprises utilizing a plurality of curves representing relationships between pressure differential and flow rate for a plurality of bypass damper positions.

8. A method of controlling a group of cooling units serving a data center, comprising:selecting a target for a characteristic of air provided from the group of cooling units to an aisle of the data center based on a predicted first consumption and a predicted energy consumption of the group of cooling units;distributing the predicted first consumption and the predicted energy consumption among the group of cooling units by selecting one or more cooling units of the group of cooling units to provide cooling based on the target for the characteristic of the air provided from the group of cooling units to the aisle; andcontrolling an amount of airflow from the one or more cooling units selected to provide cooling to the aisle based on the target for the characteristic of the air provided from the group of cooling units to the aisle, wherein the characteristic is not the amount of airflow.

9. The method of Claim 8, wherein selecting the target for the characteristic of the air provided from the group of cooling units to the aisle comprises predicting the predicted first consumption and the predicted energy consumption for a plurality of possible values of the characteristic of the air.

10. The method of Claim 8, wherein the predicted first consumption comprises a predicted amount of water that evaporates during operation of the group of cooling units.

11. The method of Claim 8, comprising predicting the predicted first consumption based on the amount of airflow from the one or more cooling units and an expected change in the characteristic of the air provided from the group of cooling units to the aisle.

12. The method of Claim 8, comprising predicting the predicted energy consumption by finding a fan speed based on a pressure differential and volumetric flow2026205385   07 Jul 2026rate associated with the target for the characteristic of the air provided from the group of cooling units to the aisle.

13. The method of Claim 8, wherein distributing the predicted first consumption and the predicted energy consumption among the group of cooling units comprises determining different control actions for different units of the one or more cooling units selected to provide cooling, and controlling the amount of airflow from the one or more cooling units comprises causing the different units to operate in accordance with the different control actions.

14. The method of Claim 8, comprising predicting the predicted first consumption and the predicted energy consumption of the group of cooling units based on possible values of the characteristic of the air by utilizing a plurality of curves representing relationships between pressure differential and flow rate for a plurality of bypass damper positions.

15. A cooling system for a data center comprising a controller programmed to: predict a first consumption and an energy consumption of the cooling system based on a selected supply air temperature;find a target for a characteristic of air provided from the cooling system to an aisle of the data center by adjusting the selected supply air temperature such that a value of an objective function improves, the objective function comprising the predicted first consumption and the predicted energy consumption of the cooling system; andcontrol an amount of airflow from the cooling system to the aisle based on the target for the characteristic of the air provided from the cooling system to the aisle, wherein the characteristic is not the amount of airflow.

16. The cooling system of Claim 15, wherein the first consumption comprises an amount of water that evaporates during operation of the cooling system.

17. The cooling system of Claim 15, wherein the controller is programmed to predict the first consumption based on the amount of airflow from the cooling system to the aisle and an expected change in the characteristic of the air provided from the cooling system to the aisle.2026205385   07 Jul 202618. The cooling system of Claim 15, wherein the controller is programmed to predict the first consumption and the energy consumption utilizing a plurality of curves representing relationships between pressure differential and flow rate for a plurality of bypass damper positions.

19. The cooling system of Claim 15, comprising a bypass damper;wherein the controller is configured to control the cooling system in accordance with the target for the characteristic of the air provided from the cooling system to the aisle by causing a change in position of the bypass damper.

20. The cooling system of Claim 15, wherein the controller is programmed to predict the energy consumption by finding a fan speed based on a pressure differential and volumetric flow rate associated with the selected supply air temperature.

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