Energy efficiency Filtration is key
A cooling tower with air intake screens
will also prevent the spread of this life threatening bacteria.
Drain on resources
Creating the right environment for datacentres costs money; in terms of maintenance and energy. In fact, according to DataCentre - Dynamics 2012 Global Census, datacentres upped their power usage by 63 per cent between 2011 and 2012, with five per cent of worldwide datacentre power used in the UK. Causing not only a financial drain on individual build- ings, this rise in usage has sparked pressure from environmental groups to reduce power consump- tion at critical data sites.
In order to strike the balance between keeping datacentres in action and reducing energy drains, it’s essential cooling equipment is in top working order. Maintenance is key and with so much riding on keeping data centres operational, scrimping on this task is not a cut worth taking.
Maintenance check-list Advise your customers of the core maintenance tasks, including: • Checking the overall cooling capacity to ensure it is not exceed- ed by IT equipment in the data centre
• Checking all fans are operating properly and that alarms are functioning
• Checking the condition of chillers, external condensers, pumping systems and primary cooling loops
• Checking temperature at strate- gic positions in the aisles of the data centre
• Recording air intake tempera- tures at the bottom, middle and top of each rack and compare with manufacturer’s recommendations • Checking and changing the cooling pack – a prime location for Legionnaires
• Checking for gaps within racks or excess cabling that may affect cooling performance
• Ensuring that all filters are clean
Filter cleaning is necessary in order to prevent airborne particulates; such as pollen and dust; clogging HVAC equipment and reducing air- flow. Reduced airflow will result in a unit working harder to meet its cooling targets, therefore using more energy, increasing the likeli- hood of unit breakdown. By stopping airborne particu- lates from entering a system in the first-place, cooling is kept con- stant, risk of breakdown is reduced and maintenance requirements are cut – if debris is stopped before it gets to a filter the need to clean that filter becomes a more infre- quent requirement.
Air intake screens help in this scenario, fitted externally to existing cooling towers, or other HVAC equipment, the screens prevent air- borne debris from entering the air intake system, improving laminar airflow which maintains and enhances cooling properties, improving energy efficiency and reducing maintenance tasks.
Air intake screens in action Air intake screens were recently installed at a datacentre in America, improving the efficiency of the sys- tem by an estimated five per cent. Across a number of cooling towers this improvement in efficiency con- tributes to big savings in energy bills, with the end user getting more cooling for less money and payback for the equipment in around one and a half years. Using air intake screens also reduced water temperature by 1 degree at the sump, contributing to a reduced risk of Legionnaire’s dis- ease. Colder conditions and a reduction in the amount of air- borne debris cut the organic load in the system, improving the effi- ciency of water treatment chemi- cals, with overall maintenance time and effort cut by over 25 per cent.
Customer support
If you are responsible for installing or maintaining datacentres, help your customers get the most out of their equipment, while reducing the risk of Legionnaires disease, by instilling the importance of keeping this equipment running at its optimum. Products like the air intake screens can be fitted retro- spectively, or at the install stage, ensuring essential HVAC equip- ment works efficiently and effec- tively from the very beginning. ECEX are the sole European dis- tributor of Air Intake Screens, manufactured by US-based Air Solution Company.
Daily news update at
www.heatingandventilating.net HVR | September 2014 | 23 IF YOU NEED A METERING OR
FLOW MEASUREMENT SOLUTION FOR YOUR PROJECT:
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