The heat densities in data centres are rapidly increasing. This requires adaptation of the cooling strategy. In a traditional design, mixture of hot and cold air can occur which decreases the system’s efficiency. Total separation of hot and cold air can drastically improve the system’s efficiency. Minkels Varicondition-HD solution combines this separation of hot and cold air with a precise control strategy. The control strategy of Varicon-HD draws the exact amount of cold air required from the raised floor,
through the servers. The pressure under the raised floor can be controlled by the floor valve and the integration of the CRAC Fan control.
varicondition-hd
The system is based on the principle of a rack-based steering loop and total separation of hot and cold air. The floor valve and integration with the CRAC control completes this system. The cold air will be drawn from the raised floor and forms a uniform
column of cold air in front of the servers. In addition to the servers, 19” blanking panels and rack side skirts will prevent any cold air leaking to the rear of the rack. The only way the cold air can go to the rear is via the servers, where it will perform its cooling task. The airflow and therefore the cooling capacity are controlled by the fans on top of the rack. These hot swappable EC-fans will exhaust the hot air out of the roof where it can be guided directly to the inlet of the CRAC unit. The control can be either fully automatic or manual; The fully automatic control is also monitorable over IP and can be integrated in the control of the CRAC unit. This integration results in a perfect balance between the required and produced cold air.
Varicondition-HD is a modular entity which can be placed within an existing data centre; The cold air will reach the servers in its purest (coolest) form. The design results in a uniform spread of temperature in front of the servers. From a cooling point of view server placement in the rack is unimportant. The water temperature of the cooling installation can be raised, leading to a better utilization of free cooling potential.