Alternative Cooling Sources for Data Centers
John Peterson, P.E., PMP, CEM, LEED AP BD+C
Course Outline
The intent of this course is to educate data center designers and engineers about alternative cooling options and methodologies. It is assumed that the audience is familiar with basic air conditioning design and perhaps typical data center design techniques. The material will show several techniques for using alternative sources for heat sinks to support a data center. The reader should also have a basic understanding of water properties as well as pumps and approximate operational temperature ranges.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will:
Intended Audience
This course is intended for architects, engineers, students, and contractors.
Benefit for Attendee
Attendee of this course will be able to consider alternative cooling sources for data center projects as well as understand the potential for energy and water savings.
Course Introduction
As ASHRAE and others aim for buildings to achieve net-zero energy use, including energy-intensive mission critical facilities, by the year 2030 designers will need to consider alternate cooling systems that can be reliable and more efficient. The tools and design techniques to achieve this goal are targeted to be in place by 2020; this is less than 5 years.
With the expansion of cloud computing and increasing demands for online services, data centers will be growing throughout the world. As the need for energy to support these data centers rises, the need to find and use efficient cooling sources will also increase. Using electricity from power plants to generate cooling is less efficient than using more localized cooling sources. To reach the energy saving goals, designers will need to broaden their choices to find the most beneficial options available.
Course Content
The course content is contained in the following PDF file:
Alternative Cooling Sources for Data Centers
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Course Summary
Options for geothermal and utilizing water directly from rivers, lakes, and oceans has become a viable option for end users to save energy, avoid ozone depleting refrigerants, and save space. Geothermal systems will be presented to see the possible benefits and costs that might be associated with installation and maintenance. Lake and river water will be reviewed for the history of industrial cooling and applicability for data centers. To meet the high reliability standards for data centers, the potential advantages, disadvantages, and lessons learned from the unexpected will be reviewed. Lastly, effects to the surrounding environment will be discussed based on existing projects from around the world.
The first system in the U.S. at Ithica, NY, which serves about 51 megawatts of cooling starting in 2000, will be presented for lake water use. A data center in Hamina, Finland will be reviewed for using seawater. The potential efficiencies, comparisons of savings of equipment and other advantages and disadvantages are also illustrated. For data centers and other critical facilities, the additional requirement to meet higher reliability standards will also be reviewed.
Related Links
For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:
Cornel University Lake Source Cooling Project
Makai Ocean Engineering – Seawater Air Conditioning
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.