Airedale by Modine, the critical cooling specialists, has announced the launch of its Cooling System Optimizer solution – a sophisticated controls package that delivers optimal performance across entire chilled water cooling systems in large data centers, in response to industry demand for sustainable, stable and secure cooling as facilities move towards complex variable flow primary-only chilled water systems.
Leveraging the benefits of single-loop water cooling systems, as well as remaining compatible with a primary/secondary water system setup, the Cooling System Optimizer is designed to ensure data center cooling equipment, such as chillers and CRAHs work in harmony to deliver required cooling, maintain redundancy levels and increase resilience, all at the lowest possible energy outlay.
Cooling System Optimizer
Cooling System Optimizer creates an additional controls layer in between the product controls and the BMS
The solution has been developed in response to operators struggling to correctly optimize variable flow chilled water systems with traditional Building Management Systems (BMS). As chillers and CRAHs get larger, reflecting the growth in data center facilities in general, chilled water systems need robust, intelligent controls in order to manage and optimize dynamic supply / demand in real time.
Cooling System Optimizer creates an additional controls layer in between the product controls and the BMS, using PLC-based deterministic controllers to ‘stretch’ intelligence across chillers and CRAHs to ensure that operational decisions are taken based on the system as a whole rather than what inputs the individual product is receiving.
Additional sensors deployed
At CRAH level, additional sensors are deployed, in order to ensure conditions at rack level are the basis for cooling decisions. The number 1 priority for the Cooling System Optimizer is maintaining the white space within SLA by keeping server inlet air temperatures stable and within defined parameters.
Beyond that, redundancy and energy use are then optimized. By operating in harmony, CRAHs can eliminate hot spots and reduce their fan speeds to deliver energy savings.
At chiller level, additional controllers are added to each control cabinet, with a multi-master controller managing communications across the created chiller network and between chillers and CRAHs.
Chillers programmed to operate in unison
We have developed the Cooling System Optimizer in response to demand for a deterministic control system"
The chillers are programmed to operate in unison, ensuring water flow/temperature reaching CRAHs is exactly what is required, not what the chiller is designed to produce. Free cooling and chiller staging is also managed and optimized.
Reece Thomas, the Controls Product Manager at Airedale said, “While the BMS has an important role to play as a holistic monitoring and reporting tool, it can lack the ability to fully optimize precise, complex systems. We have developed the Cooling System Optimizer in response to demand for a deterministic control system that can proactively manage the three most important things in any data center cooling system: resilience, redundancy and energy use.”
Tangible energy saving benefits
Reece Thomas adds, “The energy saving benefits of the Cooling System Optimizer is very tangible. For example, at part load conditions it ensures that the system flow rate and temperature exactly match the requirements of the white space, which is critical for managing energy consumption. Likewise, utilizing data from the CRAH units is pivotal to ensuring they deliver air at the correct volume and temperature, and doing so in unison.”
He concludes, “The Optimizer enables a truly dynamic system from server to chiller, prioritizing efficiency and redundancy. This method of control is a new concept, so we have developed a free-of-charge, detailed CPD for consultants who are interested in learning more.”
