Analysis of Air-Side Economizers in Terms of Cooling-Energy Performance in a Data Center Considering Exhaust Air Recirculation

Demand is soaring for data centers with advanced data-processing capabilities. In data centers with high-temperature information technology (IT) equipment, enormous cooling systems are operated year-round. To date, studies have aimed to improve the cooling efficiency of server-room units, but coolin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energies (Basel) 2018-02, Vol.11 (2), p.444
Main Authors: Park, Seonghyun, Seo, Janghoo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air conditioners
Air conditioning
Air recirculation
Air temperature
air-side economizer
Case studies
Computer centers
Cooling
cooling system
Cooling systems
data center
Data centers
Data processing
Energy conservation
Energy consumption
energy simulation
Information technology
recirculation
Temperature effects
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Summary:Demand is soaring for data centers with advanced data-processing capabilities. In data centers with high-temperature information technology (IT) equipment, enormous cooling systems are operated year-round. To date, studies have aimed to improve the cooling efficiency of server-room units, but cooling-energy-consumption analysis considering the recirculation of exhaust air (EA) has not been researched to a sufficient degree. This study analyzed the cooling-energy saving effects considering the EA-recirculation and supply-air (SA)-temperature conditions when direct and indirect air-side economizers were applied to a data center in Korea. Thirteen case studies were conducted. The results showed that when the EA-recirculation ratio in the direct air-side economizer was 15%, its annual cooling-energy consumption increased by approximately 6.1% compared to the case with no recirculation. The indirect air-side economizer also exhibited an approximately 9% increase in cooling-energy consumption. On the other hand, when the SA temperature changed to 22 °C, the annual cooling-energy consumption of the direct and indirect air-side economizers decreased by approximately 67% and 55%, respectively, compared to a central chilled-water system. This indicates the importance of developing measures to prevent EA recirculation and of securing a wind path for the improvement of air-conditioning efficiency in data centers at the design stage.
ISSN:1996-1073
1996-1073
DOI:10.3390/en11020444