AKCP Monitors Cooling Efficiency at University Canadian University Data Center
AKCP, the world’s oldest and largest manufacturer of networked professional sensor solutions has supplied a top Canadian University data center with an airflow monitoring system for their ducted cabinet cooling.
The University operates two 2,100 sqft data centers. Each is equipped with 45 ducted server cabinets. Cold-aisle containment creates an unhealthy, hot working environment. Hot-aisle containment also presents unhealthy conditions when working within the hot aisle. With ducted cabinets the problems associated with Hot or Cold aisle containment are solved.
IT Cabinets with closed rear doors and Vertical Exhaust Ducts
21°C (70°F) supply air fills the data center hall, making it a comfortable space for humans. Air is drawn through the critical IT equipment by the fans in the IT equipment. The hot return air is extracted from each individual cabinet through its own Vertical Exhaust Duct (VED) into an overhead plenum. This warm exhaust air is taken back to the Computer Room Air Handling (CRAH) units, by a negative pressure in the plenum created by the CRAH fans. As each cabinet has its own separate duct between the air supply zone and the return air plenum, it is essential to monitor the airflow through each of the VED.
Diagram of ducted IT racks cooling system
No two cabinets are identical in their IT loads and vary in their distance from the CRAH. Each unit therefore has its own unique airflow requirements, ensuring the cabinet has sufficient airflow for its proposed heat loads is important. AKCP Air Velocity Sensors (AVT00) were employed to calculate the CFM through each VED. As the VED opening is a known size, with the air velocity measurement it is simple to calculate the CFM with the formula CFM = Air Velocity x Cross Section Area.
IT Cabinets with perforated front doors to allow cool air to enter and Vertical Exhaust Ducts
The University recently constructed a new facility on a brownfield site. There are places in the overhead plenum with pre-existing obstructions which impede the smooth return of the hot air to the CRAH units. A baseline measurement of the airflow through each cabinet was required by installing blacking panels in 37 of the 42U positions. Leaving 3 U’s (20, 21 and 22) open. By turning the fan speed of each of the 4 CRAH units up to 50% a comparative analysis of air velocity could be performed for all 45 cabinets.
AKCP Air Velocity Sensors installed in Vertical Exhaust Ducts
The air velocity measurements produced a ranking of the cabinets from highest to lowest CFM. This information was utilized to design the placement of IT equipment in each rack, with the highest heat loads being placed in the cabinets with the highest potential airflow capacity. Through the AKCP air velocity sensors, connected to the sensorProbe+ base units, alerts are generated to warn operators when CFM is insufficient for the power draw of that cabinet.
About AKCP
AKCP has played a key role in data center design since the early 1980’s. AKCP solutions monitor the physical environment of the smallest edge facilities to the largest hyperscalers. As the oldest and largest manufacturer of sensor systems for data centers, we have gained an insight into the daily operations across the industry.
Today AKCP provides the world’s most advanced data center cooling solutions. AKCP combines proprietary technologies for energy savings of up to 50-90%. Achievable by blending 5 key technologies that are the result of 40 years of research and development.
