Dual-Coil Server Room Air Conditioning for Humidity Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In server rooms, the air conditioning system faces challenges in maintaining appropriate humidity levels due to external high-humidity air entering through gaps and human presence, leading to increased absolute humidity, which can exceed target ranges.
Innovation Solution
A server room air conditioning system is designed with a cooling coil configuration that includes a first coil for dehumidifying returned air to a lower temperature and a second coil for adjusting it to a higher temperature, with an air supply fan mixing the adjusted air to achieve target temperature and humidity levels, ensuring the air supplied back into the room meets specific conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If air conditioning is performed by circulating returned air from the server room, then energy saving is improved and temperature gradient is reduced, but absolute humidity rises due to outside air leakage and human presence
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling coil is divided into two separate coils: a first cooling coil for dehumidification and a second cooling coil for temperature adjustment. This segmentation allows independent control of humidity and temperature, enabling the system to remove excess humidity from returned air while maintaining energy efficiency through circulation mode operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters by introducing a dual-coil configuration where the first coil operates at a lower temperature for dehumidification and the second coil operates at a higher temperature for fine temperature control. This parameter differentiation enables simultaneous achievement of humidity control and energy saving.
2Device complexity
If a single cooling coil is used for temperature control, then device complexity is reduced, but humidity control precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The single cooling coil is segmented into two functionally distinct coils: the first cooling coil dedicated to dehumidification operations and the second cooling coil dedicated to temperature adjustment. This segmentation provides precise humidity control while maintaining a relatively simple overall system structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Both cooling coils work together to achieve multiple functions: the first coil handles dehumidification and the second coil handles temperature regulation. The combined system provides both humidity control and temperature control capabilities that a single coil cannot achieve independently.
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 configuration effectively maintains the air conditioning system within predetermined temperature and humidity ranges, preventing humidity from rising excessively and ensuring efficient operation by accurately controlling the air supplied to the server room.
Implementation Method 1
a first coil, which cools down taken-in returned air to a temperature lower than a dew point temperature of the returned air so as to dehumidify the returned air
Implementation Method 2
a second coil, which heats up the air, cooled down by the first coil, to a temperature higher than the supplied air temperature target value so that the supplied air temperature target value and a supplied air humidity target value can be achieved
Data Source
AI summary
In accordance with embodiments, a server room managing air conditioning system includes: a first coil; a second coil; and an air supply fan. The first coil adjusts returned air of a server room to a predetermined temperature value lower than a supplied air temperature target value and dehumidifies the returned air. The second coil adjusts the returned air of the server room to a predetermined temperature value higher than the supplied air temperature target value so that the supplied air temperature target value and a supplied air humidity target value can be achieved when the returned air is mixed with air adjusted by the first coil. The air supply fan mixes the returned air and supplies the mixed returned air as the supplied air to the server room.