Buildings housing data centers present specific cooling challenges, driven by the need to design for modular expansion, higher than average cooling loads, and shorter upgrade cycles. At DCD>Connect | London, Armstrong Fluid Technology will be providing expert advice and effective solutions to meet these challenges.

Heat load densities in IT-intensive facilities are typically increasing by 25 percent to 30 percent annually. This provides a challenge for critical cooling systems, which have 20-year potential lifecycles. Over-sizing at the outset in order to accommodate the full cooling load at a later date is hugely inefficient and does not align with the typical financing models employed in the data center industry.

The cooling system design strategy needs to harness the opportunities of modular packaged plant solutions, to provide repeatability and ease of expansion. Modular all variable speed HVAC solutions, such as Armstrong’s iFMS modular packaged pump solutions, are capable of ‘bolting-on’ additional cooling in line with the expansion of IT processing capacity. In addition to avoiding the energy wastage of oversized plants, this assists profitability by preventing the need to front-load capital investment and guarantees reproducibility.

Armstrong’s integrated plant rooms are also designed as scalable, modular solutions. These are available for a range of applications including chillers; chilled water pumps; water treatment, pressurization units SSF/vacuum degassing; packaged fire pump systems; and HV/LV switchgear enclosures.

Solutions are available in up to 17000mm x 4500mm x 4500mm sections (maximum shipping size). Multi-section designs provide ease of shipment and onsite assembly.

Exploiting the advantages of these scalable modular solutions is the key to rapid, low-risk deployment.

Reliable performance at higher-than-average cooling loads

Since a data center cooling system is required to be reliable and efficient over a greater operating design envelope, meeting variable demand, the performance of the system at part-load is critical. The most effective method to satisfy the continuously variable, critical cooling demands of data centers is to utilize all variable-speed components – chillers, pumps, and fans – and a control strategy specific to the unique operating characteristic of variable-speed devices.

Traditional control practices, however, often fail to optimize this potential. Pumps, for example, are often set to maintain a fixed or minimum differential pressure across the pump supply and return headers. This means the pump will not have the freedom to operate along its Natural Curve and will consume more energy.

The best practice is to utilize advanced integrated control across the system. In this scenario, with the pump placed at the CRAC unit, the flow/pressure relationship is maintained automatically for optimum efficiency. In the case of variable speed chillers, integrated control ensures operation along the chiller’s Natural Curve for all operating scenarios, ensuring optimum efficiency at all loads.

Another important design principle is the employment of capacity-based (rather than demand-based) sequencing. With capacity-based sequencing, each chiller would be taken up to 90 percent loading, for example, before the next chiller was introduced.

Demand-based sequencing, however, balances the load across the system as a whole, unlocking additional energy efficiencies that might otherwise remain under-exploited.

Real-time performance monitoring

Advanced connectivity and visibility of system performance are crucial throughout the lifetime of ultra-efficient critical cooling systems for data centers. Without information on fluid flow, across the system, it’s difficult to diagnose and optimize efficiency. With accurate flow information, the picture changes entirely.

The Active Performance Management developed by Armstrong Fluid Technology helps to optimize cooling systems at any stage of a data center’s life-cycle, responding to changing requirements. The combination of smart commissioning with real-time alerts and system transparency addresses performance drift and maintains occupant comfort. With Active Performance Management, you can make annual energy savings of up to 40 percent.

One of Armstrong’s Active Performance Management solutions is Pump Manager, which ensures that pumps continue to operate efficiently and reliably throughout their complete lifecycles. Pump Manager is a cloud-based application that uses the embedded intelligence and connectivity of Armstrong Design Envelope pumps to provide performance reports to system operators. With this information, operators can make changes and address issues to optimize HVAC performance.

Online trending and analysis across multiple parameters on single pumps, or on an aggregated basis for multiple pumps, assists in identifying performance degradation and facilitates a predictive and proactive approach. The pump Manager will, for example, report issues such as excessive vibration, pump in hand, risk of cavitation, or a dead head should they start to occur.

Compatible with industry-standard BMS, EMS, or CMMS solutions, Pump Manager helps reduce operating costs by providing data to support continuous optimization of pump performance. Pump Manager also increases pump availability and reliability, reducing unexpected failures and providing early problem detection. Lastly, it helps organizations report their energy use and environmental performance.

Talk cooling system best practices with Armstrong’s experts

Data center cooling specialists, including John Pittendrigh (Armstrong’s Data Centre Business Manager for Europe), are ready to provide expert advice at DCD>Connect | London 2024. Meet them at Armstrong Fluid Technology’s stand to find out more about the solutions available.