On-Floor Data Center Cooling With Elevated Water Temperatures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Data centers face high operational costs due to both the energy required to power electronic equipment and the additional energy needed for cooling, as the heat generated by thousands of microprocessors necessitates extensive use of energy-intensive cooling systems like chillers and cooling towers.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes on-floor cooling units, proportioning control valves, and a controller to manage the flow of cooling water, allowing for efficient temperature regulation by adjusting water circulation based on temperature changes, reducing the need for expensive chillers and minimizing energy consumption by using elevated temperatures for cooling, which are suitable for most of the operating time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If traditional cooling systems (chillers, condensers, cooling towers) are used to remove heat from data centers, then the heat generated by microprocessors is effectively removed, but the energy consumption and operational costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the temperature parameters of the cooling system by using higher temperature cooling water (e.g., 20-30°C instead of traditional 5-15°C chilled water) and allowing data center equipment to operate at elevated temperatures (e.g., 30-40°C instead of 20-25°C). This parameter change enables the use of simple heat exchangers and cooling towers instead of energy-intensive chillers, dramatically reducing cooling energy consumption while maintaining acceptable temperature control for equipment operation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the chiller component from the traditional cooling system, replacing it with a simpler heat exchanger and cooling tower configuration. By taking out the chiller (which consumes the most energy), the system achieves heat removal functionality through less energy-intensive means while still maintaining equipment within acceptable operating temperature ranges
2Reliability
If more cooling capacity is provided to maintain lower temperatures, then equipment reliability is improved, but the cost and energy consumption of the cooling system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent redefines the acceptable temperature parameter range for data center equipment, allowing operation at higher temperatures (e.g., 30-40°C ambient, 40-50°C equipment operating temperature). This parameter change reduces the cooling capacity required while maintaining equipment reliability, as modern equipment can tolerate higher temperatures without significant performance degradation or failure rate increase
3Measurement precision
If conventional chilled water cooling systems are used, then precise temperature control is achieved, but the device complexity and initial investment cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes complex chiller equipment, condensers, and associated high-pressure refrigerant systems from the cooling architecture, replacing them with simple water-based heat exchangers and evaporative cooling towers. This extraction of complex components dramatically simplifies the system while maintaining adequate temperature control through passive evaporative cooling mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses simple hydraulic principles with water as the cooling medium, utilizing natural convection, evaporative cooling, and basic heat exchanger physics. This hydraulic approach replaces complex mechanical refrigeration cycles with simpler fluid-based thermal management, reducing device complexity while maintaining effective cooling
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces the energy required for cooling, lowers operational costs, and allows for more efficient cooling by minimizing the use of energy-intensive components, while maintaining effective temperature control within data centers, even in high-heat environments.
Implementation Method 1
Each on-floor cooling unit can include a heat exchanger configured to transfer heat from the electronic equipment to the cooling water source
Implementation Method 2
The cooling water source can include a cooling tower
Implementation Method 3
The cooling water source can include a cooling tower
Data Source
AI summary
A system for cooling air in a data center includes a data center having electronic equipment in operation, a cooling water source, and a plurality of on-floor cooling units. The cooling water source is configured to retain at maximum capacity a total amount of water. Each on-floor cooling unit is configured to cool air heated by a portion of the electronic equipment in the data center using water from the cooling water source. The total amount of water is insufficient to maintain a leaving air temperature of each on-floor cooling unit below an inside setpoint when a temperature outside of the data center is above a predetermined external temperature.