APC by Schneider Electric has introduced EcoBreezeâ„¢, a modular indirect evaporative and air-to-air heat exchanger cooling solution for data centers. The EcoBreeze can switch automatically between air-to-air and indirect evaporative heat exchange to consistently provide cooling in the most efficient way for the existing conditions.
The design of the EcoBreeze serves to reduce energy consumption by leveraging temperature differences between outside ambient air compared to IT return air to provide economized cooling to a data center.
The EcoBreeze addresses the needs of today’s data center’s by implementing multiple forms of economization into each module. The unit, located outside the perimeter of the data center, takes advantage of localized climates and can automatically switch between two forms of economized cooling:
- Air-to-air heat exchange — Brings in hot IT air in from the data center through the modules EC (Electronically Commutated) fans which is then passed through internal channels of the Indirect Evaporative Cooler (IEC). After the IT air is cooled it leaves the IEC and passes through a cooling coil and returned to the data center.
- Indirect evaporative heat exchange — When ambient temperatures can’t support an air-to-air heat exchange, cooling is done through indirect evaporative cooling which removes heat from the IT air by evaporating water on the outside of the heat exchanger channels.
The EcoBreeze is the first solution on the market which prevents the outside air from coming in contact with the data center air, regardless of which cooling mode is used (air-to air or indirect evaporative).
The EcoBreeze has a proportional R410a refrigerant system as well as an on-board water treatment system, eliminating the need for chemical water treatment. This feature addresses environmental concerns associated with some refrigerant or water based systems. Both of the economization cooling strategies employed maximize localized climate conditions to ensure the most efficient and effective form of cooling year-round.
The EcoBreeze meets ASHRAE 90.1/TC 9.9 requirements for efficiency and economization with multiple frame sizes with varying voltages and phases to serve all data center cooling needs. It is available individual 50kw modules that can be grouped up to four modules (200kw) or eight modules (400kw) of sensible cooling. The modular, scalable approach enables managers to purchase only what they need to meet current cooling requirements. This modularity also provides redundancy at the frame level and ensures availability of the system even through maintenance and service intervals. Power, water, air flow distribution, and communication connections are centralized to the frame. Additionally, the unit is located outside the perimeter of the data center, so it does not occupy space within the data center itself.