Print this page 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:
- Be familiar with alternative cooling technologies that can apply to support data centers;
- Be able to recognize potential sources for cooling data centers;
- Understand the water sources and the temperature needs of a data center project; and
- Be familiar with the differences in the typical cooling equipment required and the equipment needed for an alternative cooling source.
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
Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.
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.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
