The document summarizes a presentation on trends in North American data center cooling. The top 3 trends discussed are: 1) Increased use of economizers as the primary cooling mode rather than supplemental to reduce energy costs; 2) Regulations requiring economizer use in most climate zones; and 3) Data center workloads becoming more dynamic, requiring cooling systems to adapt quickly. Indirect air-to-air heat exchangers are presented as the most efficient economizer option. Liquid cooling is discussed but seen as mainly suitable for niche HPC applications currently. Established technologies like perimeter cooling and containment are evolving to higher efficiencies.

1. The Top 3 North America Data
Center Trends for Cooling

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3. Speaker
Joe Capes
Business Development Director for Schneider
Electric's Cooling Line of Business

4. Trending the North American
Application of Data Center Cooling
January 16, 2014
Joe Capes
Director – Cooling Business Development, Americas
joe.capes@schneider-electric.com

5. Agenda
 Top 3 NAM trends for Data Center Cooling today
 Economizers – types & options
 High Performance Cooling – Where is the industry heading?
 Selecting the right Cooling solution for your Data Center
 Summary
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6. Agenda
 Top 3 NAM trends for Data Center Cooling today
 Economizers – types & options
 High Performance Cooling – Where is the industry heading?
 Selecting the right Cooling solution for your Data Center
 Summary
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7. Data center segmentation has changed from business size to
business purpose
Enterprise
Server deployments
in Cloud & Colo will
increase by 2.5x by
2020 (2)
Data Center as an
Enabler
PAM: $15.1B (1)
3% - 4% Growth
Cloud & Colo
HPC
Data Center as a
Data Center as an
Business
Investment
PAM: $4.9B (1)
15% - 20% Growth
PAM: $2.0B (1)
7% - 9% Growth
(1) PAM for Current YoY. Source Tier1 & ITB internal estimates
(2) Cloud & Colo server deployments will represent 43% by 2020; up from 18% in 2011
IDC
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8. Datacenter energy impact: OPEX
Cooling represents ~half of the total energy consumed in the Data Center
33% of the total energy consumption is related to the
chillers
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9. Consolidation
F-Gas
Restriction
Modules
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WW Market
Regulations
Cloud /
Colo
Standards
Efficiency /
Economizers
Market Trends
ASHRAE TC9.9 Broadening operating ranges
ASHRAE SPC90.1 requires economizers and minimum PUE
- ASHRAE SPC90.4 coming 20XX
AHRI Datacom section
US Department of Energy efficiency mandates
EU code of conduct compliance, MEPS, CCC & others
Segment forecasted to grow at 15-20% YOY
Best served by large capacity units (CRACs and Air Handlers)
Server deployments to increase by 2.5x by 2020
Application needs better performance, low installed cost and faster deployment
SMDC opportunities declining as compute is outsourced or moved off-site
Fluorinated Greenhouse Gas restrictions are requiring phase-out of all
of the F-Gas refrigerants by 2020
Modular datacenter design becoming more mainstream with a lot of
focus on quick deployment
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10. ASHRAE 90.1 Climate Zone Economizer Requirement Map
No requirement
Data Centers >19kW
Data Centers >40kW
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Basically, if you’re blue, economizer use is mandated!
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11. Paradigm Shift: Economizer to Become
PRIMARY Mode of Operation
Reduce/eliminate the use of a compressor system
and move toward a highly efficient Data Center
Cooling system
OLD: Use
economizer as a
supplemental
mode
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NEW: Use economizer as the
primary mode
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12. Agenda
 Top 3 NAM trends for Data Center Cooling today
 Economizers – types & options
 High Performance Cooling – Where is the industry heading?
 Selecting the right Cooling solution for your Data Center
 Summary
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13. An Overview of the Economizer Mode
Operating in
economizer
mode saves
energy
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It is often a
requirement to
meet efficiency
targets
“Economizer is a mode of operation,
not an object”
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14. Purpose and Function of Economizer
Modes
The system must do less work to cool the data center
• Cooling
systems’
efficiency have
improved
For greater
efficiency gains
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Bypass
compressor
• The
development
of economizer
modes
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15. Factors that Impact Economizer Mode
Operation
 Geographic location
 Cooling system set
points
 Separation of hot
and cold air streams
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16. Impact of Geography / Ambient
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17. Impact of Cooling Set Points
ASHRAE TC9.9
● ASHRAE (Technical Committee)9.9 sets the
recommended operating limits within the data center.
2008 Limits
Temp Range: 64.4-80.6°F
Humidity Range: (DP 42°F) –
(60% RH & DP 59°F)
● In 2008, the limits were widened to allow for raised rack
inlets temperatures.
● This widened envelope allows for efficiency and energy
savings through more hours of economization
2004 Limits
Temp Range: 68-77°F
Humidity Range: 40-55%
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18. Impact of Containment
Facilitates higher supply & return air temperatures
COLD-aisle containment
HOT-aisle containment
HOT air free
in the room
Cold
aisle
COLD air free
in the room
Hot
aisle
The key benefit of both methods comes from SEPARATION of
cold supply air from hot return air
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19. Comparison of Economizer Modes
15 Economizer Types or Modes!!
Let’s focus in on ‘the top 3’
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20. Good - A/C bypass using Direct Fresh Air
Key Components
 Fans and Louvers
o Draw cold outside air through
filters into the data center
 Louvers and Dampers
o Control the hot exhaust air
released to the outdoors and
back into the data center air
supply
 Filters
o Filter the supply air
Evaporative assist can be used in this type of economizer mode
Warning: Mixing of outside & inside air can result in particulate contamination
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21. Better - A/C Bypass via Heat Wheel
Key Components
Fans
o Blows cold outside air through a
rotating heat exchanger
o Separate fans blow heated exhaust
air across the same heat exchanger
Heat Wheel
o Rotating heat exchanger
o Isolates outside air from data center
air
o 100% sensible cooling
Evaporative assist can be used in this type of economizer mode
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22. Best - A/C Bypass using Air Heat Exchanger
a.k.a. Indirect Evaporative Cooling
Key Components
Fans
o Blows cold outside air over a heat
exchanger
o Separate fans blow heated exhaust
air across the same heat exchanger
Air-to-air Heat Exchanger
o Cools hot data center air and
isolates the air from the outside air
o Eliminates the need for pretreatment & filtration
o 100% sensible cooling
Evaporative assist can be used in this type of economizer mode
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23. Competitive Analysis
1 MW Design Data Center @ 60% Load
System Architecture
Partial PUE
Indirect Evaporative Heat Exchange
Air Econ w/ Heat Wheel & Evap Assist
Fresh Air Econ
Water Cooled Chiller w/ Econ
Air-Cooled Chiller w/ Econ
DX Fluid Cooled CRAC w/ Econ
1.09
1.10
1.14
1.14
1.16
1.20
kW-Hr/Yr Relative Power
466,518
503,999
718,159
728,195
846,039
1,044,073
45%
48%
69%
70%
81%
100%
1) Hot Air Containment 101.5°F Return to A/C
2) Supply Air / Cold Aisle 77°F
3) BIN Weather Data St. Louis, MO
4) Does not reflect humidification losses
5) All systems have fan control proportional to IT load % of design
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24. Conclusion
In the past, cooling system
economizer modes have not been
seriously considered in most data
centers.
Many economizer options exist with
indirect air heat exchange (w/
evaporative assist) showing best
overall performance and return on
investment.
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25. Agenda
 Top 3 NAM trends for Data Center Cooling today
 Economizers – types & options
 High Performance Cooling – Where is the industry heading?
 Selecting the right Cooling solution for your Data Center
 Summary
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26. New Challenge:
Dynamic Power Variation
Past
Future
IT load power varies less than 5% with
computational load
IT load varies +5% in proportion to
computational load
Power and cooling accommodation of
IT load changes is manual
Power and cooling automatically
adapt based on IT load changes
Both total and individual IT airflow
requirements are constant
Total IT airflow changes over time
and moves around the data center
Problems like hot spots and overloads
are static and can be measured and
modeled with CFD
There is no single state to be
modeled. Performance must be
predictable.
To deal with dynamic power variation, use of past design
approaches requires gross over provisioning
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Foundational BUSINESS OVERVIEW Rev 1
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27. Is Liquid Cooling the Answer?
Promise:
• Widespread use of liquid-air & liquidliquid HX in gaming PCs, consoles, etc.
• Entry cost is decreasing
• New refrigerants are opening gateways
to the re-application of submersion
technologies
Challenge:
• Implementation is OEM-driven or
requires modification of IT gear that is
substantial
• Entry cost is still far higher than aircooling
• ROI is too long for widespread adoption
beyond niche HPC applications
• Some technologies not ‘market ready’
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28. ‘New’ Cooling Technologies:
Technology
Summary of our view
Fresh air cooling
Extremely high efficiency in some climates. Climatelimited application due to humidity issues, and with
danger of particulate contamination to IT gear.
Indirect Air-Air heat
exchanger cooling
Very high efficiency. Can be used in almost any climate.
A general replacement for traditional cooling systems
Thermal storage (water
tanks, phase change)
Cost effective for cases with high swings in time of day
pricing or where value of demand management is high.
Increase in effectiveness of economizers will make
this a niche application
Liquid cooled IT
Becomes practical as cabinet power passes 20kW.
Suitable only for highly homogeneous IT installations.
May become even more common for HPC installations.
Cooling remains an opportunity for significant energy and
water reductions
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Foundational BUSINESS OVERVIEW Rev 1

29. Update: Established Technologies
Technology
Summary of my view
Perimeter Cooling –
CRAH/CRAC (evolving)
In use for decades, but technology languished. Now
updated through use of high efficiency EC fans, EEVs,
higher efficiency compressors and high SHR designs.
Less use of energy-hogging humidification & reheat.
InRow Cooling (evolving)
Now available in multiple forms of heat rejection. Proven
for use in mid to high density applications. New
economizer solutions. ROI of 3 years or less is common
(vs. legacy CRAC/CRAH)
Containment (adoption)
Rapid expansion in the market. A necessity where
optimized use of Economizers is desired. CACS gaining
popularity in existing Data Centers. HACS popular in
new-build, hybrid and Row-based Cooling applications.
Modular Data Centers
(acceptance)
Effective for all applications – now evolving beyond “IT
Containers”. Expect widespread use in the future.
Combinations of these approaches are how data centers
will improve in the future
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30. Agenda
 Top 3 NAM trends for Data Center Cooling today
 Economizers – types & options
 High Performance Cooling – Where is the industry heading?
 Selecting the right Cooling solution for your Data Center
 Summary
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31. Schneider Electric Cooling Portfolio
•EcoBreeze
•Chillers
•Heat Rejection
•Uniflair CRAH/CRAC
•InRow Self-Contained
•Room Air Distribution
Room
•Air Removal Units
•Rack Air Distribution
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•InRow Chilled Water
•InRow DX
•Pumped Refrigerant
•Thermal Containment
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32. Financial Comparison (made by =S=)
 Data Center Sizes – 60, 120, 480, 1200 kW
 Rack Density – 3, 6, 12, 20 kW per Rack (120 CFM/kW)
 Raised Floor Air Distribution for Room Cooling – 100 Euro/ m2 ($8/ft2)
o Raised Floor Pricing range from 30 Euro / m2 to 400 Euro / m2($50/ft2)
o Does not consider fire suppression under floor ($4-$10/ft2)
 Drop Ceiling for Room Cooling Hot Aisle Containment – 36 Euro / m2
($4/ft2)
o Based on RSMeans Cost Works Data Base – Typical Drop Ceiling
o Does not consider fire suppression in drop ceiling range ($4-$10/ft2)
 Active Floor for Room Cooling with CAC and raised floor for high density (12
and 20 kW per rack)
 Piping costs based on RSMeans Cost Works Data Base – Steel Piping
 Cost of Energy = 0.1 Euro / kWh
 EcoStream Analysis Tool used to determine airflow required for each
scenario
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33. Cooling Product Positioning
 Performance & Form Factor
o Capacity, Airflow (cfm), Efficiency, Size, Type, etc.
 Financial
o
o
o
o
First Cost
Operating Cost
3 Year TCO (Operating + First Cost)
Day one budget vs. Pay as you grow
 Facility Constraints (Existing Data Centers)
o Out of Capacity
o Stranded Capacity
o Out of Space
 Qualitative Criteria
o Reliability / Availability
o Flexibility
 Regional considerations and tweaks are always expected
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34. Selection Chart
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35. Agenda
 Top 3 NAM trends for Data Center Cooling today
 Economizers – types & options
 High Performance Cooling – Where is the industry heading?
 Selecting the right Cooling solution for your Data Center
 Summary
Schneider Electric
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36. A Final Word –
 Economizers are here to stay – and if you don’t believe it, the U.S.
government is going to make you believe it
 Lots of economizer modes to choose from
o Indirect air-to-air heat exchange has distinct advantages vs. other approaches
 Selecting the right solution isn’t always easy
o
o
o
o
Understand the application
Know your metrics and your ‘bulls-eye’
Go beyond first cost – or you will pay the price later
Focus on efficiency, performance, flexibility, space consumption and total
return on investment
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37. Resources List
The Different Types of Air Conditioning Equipment for IT Environments
Data Center Science Center White Paper 59
Hot-Aisle vs. Cold-Aisle Containment for Data Centers
Data Center Science Center White Paper 135
Ultra High-Efficiency Cooling Modules for Large Data Centers
Data Center Science Center White Paper 136
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38. Questions?

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