In many data centers, water-cooled chillers are paired with an open or closed-circuit cooling tower for heat rejection. Other options include dry coolers, hybrid fluid coolers and adiabatic fluid coolers. It is beneficial to evaluate all heat rejection options to optimize energy and water consumption.
Baltimore Aircoil Company (BAC) was approached by a high-performance computing customer with 160-megawatt operating power to provide a more sustainable cooling solution. They had previously used open cooling towers with water-cooled chillers. BAC worked with the customer to understand their major challenges and needs. The following were identified as critical priorities:
BAC analyzed the IT capacity, space requirements, operating power and location weather data, and then evaluated fully evaporative, hybrid, and adiabatic solutions. Based on the analysis, BAC recommended a chiller-less system utilizing the HXVTM Hybrid Cooler. The HXV’s packaged evaporative and dry cooling features offered the water saving and energy efficient solution the customer desired.
The factory assembled unit also allowed for easier maintenance and serviceability for the operations team. They were able to easily access the cold-water basin, prime surface coil and drive system due to the crossflow design, large doors, and internal access platforms. Additionally, the customer could perform faster inspections of the spray distribution system while the unit was in operation.
The HXV Hybrid Cooler not only addressed all the customer’s challenges and needs, but it also reduced annual energy costs and improved system efficiency. The HXV Hybrid Cooler helped achieve an estimated power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.136.
In this installation, the HXV Hybrid Cooler met the customer’s need for a reasonable first cost while significantly reducing both water consumption and operating costs. The HXV heat rejection benefits compared to open cooling towers with water-cooled chillers are:
