Research on Free Cooling of Data Centers by Using Indirect Cooling of Open Cooling Tower

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to research energy efficiency by using free cooling in data centers. The upper limit of wet bulb temperature of free cooling is obtained and the recommended value is 16 ℃ in the way of indirect cooling by open cooling tower. The concept of sensitivity of the natural cold resource is proposed for the first time. The natural resource utilizing potential of main climate zones of China is analyzed. The analysis indicates that natural resource utilizing ratio is over 50% in most regions. The improvement of the upper limit of wet bulb temperature is most beneficial to Moderate area. Finally, a data center in hot-summer and warm-winter region is analyzed. The results show that the annual synthesized COP value increased by 23.7% and the energy saving rate is about 19.2% after full use of free cooling.