Renewable energy for energy-saving air conditioning at data centers: Groundwater air conditioners that use geothermal heat!

Although the summer heat is easing up, air conditioning and heating are still in demand. This article summarizes how to utilize renewable energy in data centers, which require high-load air conditioning 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Air conditioning characteristics unique to data centers

The following are some of the unique air conditioning features of data centers:

1. CPU heat continues 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
2. Humidity control is important to prevent condensation while suppressing static electricity
3. Heating may be required in some areas during the winter

These characteristics mean that air conditioning costs are very high in data centers.

Furthermore, humidity control is required, which means evaporative cooling fans cannot be used.

That is where we can suggest our multi-stage groundwater air conditioner.

Using renewable energyBenefits of using multi-stage groundwater air conditioners in data centers

Our unique multi-stage groundwater air conditioner is an ultra-energy-saving air conditioner that uses renewable energy and consumes only about 1/10 the power of a regular packaged air conditioner.

Other products that claim to use similar renewable energy sources and have energy-saving features include evaporative cooling and traditional groundwater coolers.

However, multi-stage groundwater air conditioners have features that make them suitable for data centers that these other systems do not have.

1. High cooling capacity

For example, with evaporative cooling, the discharge temperature is higher than that of an air conditioner and the humidity is also high, so the actual cooling capacity is not very high.

Conventional groundwater coolers that use renewable energy can supply cold air on a par with that supplied by an air conditioner, depending on the groundwater temperature, but they require a large amount of groundwater to do so.

In contrast, Aqua Easter's multi-stage groundwater air conditioner, which uses renewable energy, uses a small amount of groundwater to lower the temperature in one go in the first stage by cooling with groundwater flowing through the air, and then uses a radiator-type heat exchanger in the second stage to further lower the temperature while simultaneously dehumidifying. By precisely controlling this multi-stage system, it is possible to supply humidity-controlled cool air on par with that of an air conditioner using only a small amount of groundwater.

2. Humidity control is possible

As mentioned above, by controlling the different air conditioning systems for the first and second stages, it is possible to control humidification and dehumidification. This allows for humidity control similar to that of an air conditioner.

3. Heating operation is also possible

By combining a separate heat source, it can also be used for heating. Although evaporative cooling does not support heating, multi-stage groundwater air conditioners can be used for heating by passing hot water through them, just as the name suggests.

4. Energy conservation even without groundwater

At Aqua Easter, we also conduct surveys of local groundwater sources, including compliance with legal regulations, but please rest assured if groundwater is not available. By combining a dedicated small chiller unit, it is possible to operate in the same way. Even in this case, energy savings of 1/5 to 1/10 compared to regular air conditioners can be achieved.

If you would like to know about actual cases of renewable energy use, implementation, and design in data centers, please feel free to contact us using the information below.