Beating the Heat: Energy-Saving Cooling Strategies for Data Centres

A typical hyperscale data centre can consume 3-5 million gallons of water per day, comparable to the daily water use of a city with 30-40,000 people.

• Carla De Las Casas, Thomas Steinwinder

This insatiable demand for data and computing power has led to an exponential growth of data centres worldwide. But this expansion comes with a significant energy footprint, especially as data centres continue to consume huge amounts of electricity, primarily for powering their air cooled chillers and data centre cooling systems. Addressing this challenge is, therefore, extremely crucial for both environmental sustainability and operational cost-effectiveness. Climaveneta, a leading HVAC brand from Mitsubishi Electric, offers cutting-edge cooling solutions designed to maximise energy efficiency in data centre environments.

The Challenge of Cooling Data Centres

Data centres are basically high-density of servers and computing equipment packed into small spaces. And these high densities of servers generate a huge amount of heat. Ensuring proper cooling, often provided by air cooled chillers and data centre cooling systems, is essential to maintaining optimal performance and preventing system failures. However, traditional air cooled chillers and data centre cooling systems often employ energy-intensive cooling methods that contribute greatly to a data centre’s overall power consumption and carbon footprint. Such inefficient cooling not only increases operational costs, but also negatively impacts the environment through higher greenhouse gas emissions.

Innovative Cooling Techniques

To address these challenges, Climaveneta has developed innovative data centre cooling systems and air cooled chiller techniques that prioritise energy efficiency without compromising performance. One such solution is liquid cooling, which directly converts coolant to heat-generating components, enabling more effective heat dissipation and reducing the overall cooling load. Climaveneta's rear-door heat exchangers and immersion cooling systems leverage this technology, offering superior cooling capabilities while minimising energy consumption.

Another approach in Climaveneta’s data centre cooling systems is free cooling, which uses ambient air or water to cool data centre systems when external temperatures are favourable. Climaveneta's free cooling air cooled chillers capitalise on this principle, significantly reducing the need for energy-intensive mechanical cooling during cooler seasons or in temperate climates. Additionally, Climaveneta incorporates phase-change materials (PCMs) into their cooling solutions, which store and release thermal energy during phase transitions, providing efficient temperature regulation and reducing energy demands.

Climaveneta India in Action

Climaveneta's innovative data centre cooling systems and air cooled chillers have enabled data centres to prioritise energy efficiency while ensuring reliable cooling performance. Their CLIMAPRO+ Plant Room Optimisation System offers comprehensive energy management for the entire plant room, optimising operations for maximum efficiency. Additionally, the Manager 3000+ control system seamlessly integrates with Climaveneta's air cooled chillers, heat pumps, and 4-pipe units, ensuring precise control and monitoring for optimal energy usage of data centre cooling systems.

Climaveneta's free cooling approach in their air cooled chillers has also yielded significant energy savings for data centres’ cooling systems. The air-cooled chiller range, including the i-FX-G01-DC-Z and FX-G01-DC-Z models designed specifically for data centre applications, allows operators to capitalise on higher temperature setpoints of up to 75°F (24°C). By leveraging this approach, data centres can significantly reduce compressor loads and associated energy costs of their data centre cooling systems, translating into substantial financial and environmental benefits.

Furthermore, Climaveneta's KIPlink human-machine interface (HMI) provides quick and secure access to operate and monitor their data centre cooling systems and air cooled chiller equipment, enabling data centre personnel to optimise cooling performance and energy efficiency through real-time monitoring and adjustments.

As data centres continue to play a critical role in our digital world, embracing energy-efficient data centre cooling systems is paramount. Climaveneta's advanced HVAC solutions, for instance, air cooled chillers, provide a path towards sustainable and cost-effective cooling, enabling data centres to meet their growing demands while minimising their environmental impact.

Climaveneta India (A group company of Mitsubishi Electric.) is a leader in providing highly efficient HVAC products and solutions since 1971, which brings comfort-driven innovations to India.