In existing buildings you may not think you have a choice regarding CW vs. DX, but read on, what you learn may surprise you.

Typically, the decision regarding which cooling source is better for a data center is usually driven by the job site conditions. If a chiller plant is available, that’s the way to go. If not, many use DX (refrigerant-based) cooling. I’ll suggest here, that while this seems obvious, it’s not always the best solution. The air cooled condenser, glycol fluid cooler or cooling tower which sits outside the building in DX applications can just as easily be replaced by a modular chiller dedicated to the data center.

I know what you’re thinking – this is a more expensive installation! That may be true initially, but when you consider the total cost of ownership along with other CW advantages, I think chilled water warrants discussion:

1. ASHRAE TC 9.9 committee, in conjunction with its server manufacturing members now tell us that with an effective airflow management strategy, we can deliver air to servers at as much as 80.6⁰F. DX coils operate at approximately 40⁰ F delivering air at much lower temperatures – wasting energy.

2. Non-dedicated, building level chillers generally operate at chilled water set points between 45⁰ and 50⁰ F. Data centers (with effective airflow management) do not require these low temperatures. The energy savings realized by raising the set point to 65⁰F or higher can be enormous.

3. Raising supply air temperature also raises return air temperature. At the levels which provide maximum efficiency, this would damage compressors in a standard DX unit. At Data Aire, we can build special DX units to take advantage of the higher temperatures, but our standard CW units can already handle them.

4. The most efficient CRAH units, like the Data Aire gForce series, utilize variable air volume plug fans with EC motors. Low air volumes cause DX coils to freeze and damage compressors. These problems do not exist with chilled water coils.

5. When outside air temperatures are low, air-side economization can be accomplished at the chiller level. This eliminates any concern about airborne contaminants entering the data center.

6. Finally, there are far fewer unit components in chilled water CRAHs and hence, fewer reasons for service personnel to work in the white space. This will make security-conscious IT managers very happy.

In summary, as energy savings is increasingly becoming a major issue in modern, enterprise type datacenters, chilled water cooling is a smart decision. Even in the case where capital expenditures may be slightly higher, operating expenditures will be significantly lower.

Data Aire’s most valuable specialty is our unsurpassed ability to build “specials” or custom features for our products. In fact, over half of the units we build include some type of special. Some are relatively minor, such as adding lights that indicate when alarms are triggered. However, many of these specials make the difference between winning and losing a bid.

So, if you take away only one thing from this blog entry it is that to ensure success: Don’t wait for specials to be dictated to you by the customer.

Be proactive. Encourage engineers and end-users to include requirements that our competitors cannot meet. We thrive on challenges. For instance, once a rep sold a customer on the concept of a unit that was exactly 48” deep x 72” wide in order for it to perfectly fit into a raised floor in which no tiles would have to be cut. The customer loved the idea. We got the job, took those dimensions and designed a one-of-a-kind unit to fit that specific footprint.

In fact, some of our most successful reps routinely insert specials into the design requirements including fusible disconnects, dual chilled-water coils (for redundancy) and dual power with Automatic Transfer Switch. Doing this is great for the customer and a bid-winner for us.

Now, we often sell options as specials before offering them in catalogs. This allows us to gain experience with the option before launch. As a matter of fact, before the gForce line was launched, plug fans were specials. Currently, air-side economizers, gForce units with 34.5” depth, heresite evaporative coils (shown in photo) and the ability to lower plug fans under the floor are current specials that may end up in PSG in the future.

John Martin includes the above type of specials in his announcements, so make sure to keep an eye out for them and stay ahead of the curve when going out to bid. In short, take advantage of the flexibility and opportunities the Applications Department offers to eliminate the competition. After all, why play on a level playing field when you can tilt it in your favor?

Classes are held here in sunny California and are limited in size (16 attendees). Registration is required and acceptance is on a first come first served basis. The registration form can be printed from the Data Aire web site, and there is a registration fee of $ 395.00 (fully refundable upon completion of the class).

We cover a variety of topics including data center design, equipment selection, data center dynamics, piping design, start-up, service and maintenance, electrical and controls. Controls are our main focus and the training is hands-on. We cover both older and newer products. Recently, we introduced the dap4 to the service training. You’ll learn the entire operation and programming including the Zone Master.

All classes include a factory tour. Now, there are no stunts or rides like on the Universal Studios’ tour, but it is fairly interesting. The tour allows you a firsthand look at the unit’s construction and design. We encourage comments and suggestions regarding the unit design and particularly service.

The classes are not limited to service technicians. We openly encourage sales personnel to attend. We have found the training to be an invaluable aid in understanding and subsequently selling the product.

All attendees that complete the course receive a certificate indicating the attendee has completed the class and is trained on Data Aire equipment.

For more information please contact either Steve Wellander (Service Manager) Ed Chavez (Director of Technical Services). We look forward to seeing you here soon.

Although we are not in the business of designing data centers, we have over 40 years experience in the installation of our own products and have gained significant working knowledge of data center design and operation. In addition, some of our personnel participate on technical committees with ASHRAE to provide input and perspective on various standards that are formulated and adopted. We have unsurpassed experience about which products to deploy and how best to apply them to maximize the odds for a successful project.

It is critical that we, as a manufacturer with the above experience, be involved as early as possible in the overall process. We can add value to initial decisions being made … selling the right equipment for the exact application … resulting in greater overall success and saving time and money in the process.

We wish we could say that our early involvement is routine. Unfortunately, that is not the case. However, when we are involved in the early stages, the process is significantly more efficient, and successful installations are the result. And, of course, we have several mechanical engineers, technically competent sales personnel, a technical services group along with a highly skilled manufacturing operation to support our products throughout the process of installation and beyond.

As a successful business person, you owe it to yourself to strive for better coordination, early involvement of all players and to take full advantage of the skills, experience and perspective of Data Aire, the manufacturer. So that instead of placing us in the role of “catching everything that flows downhill”, we can be a true and ongoing participant.  With our trusted partners, we are all getting better … and the challenges/dynamics of today’s data centers demand nothing less.

What sets the dap4 controller apart from other controllers is the Data Aire designed firmware which drives the new dap4 controller. The firmware is based on recognized and long-established control logic developed over many years of data center experience. This firmware package will also allow rapid software modifications which is an ideal feature for the demanding data center industry.

Stay tuned for many future developments and features to the evolutionary dap4 control product.

A little background about ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9: the committee was formed in 2004, as a technical group concerned about the increasing heat loads in data centers and the need for the support and infrastructure providers to be prepared to cool such heat loads (in order to sell their servers). Shortly after formation, the group became a more formal technical committee and has grown to become one of the most prolific and biggest TCs in ASHRAE.

TC 9.9 continues to have at its core the scientists and thermal architects of IT equipment manufacturers (including IBM, Dell, Intel, HP and more), as well as other industry stakeholders such as consulting engineers, researchers, owner/end users, cooling equipment manufacturers and other concerned parties. In short, you couldn’t find a group of more dedicated, hard-working, intelligent individuals if you tried. When this group publishes guidelines related to the equipment environment, it is with the backing of these IT equipment manufacturers.

As technology has evolved through the last 8 years, so have the cooling requirements. TC 9.9′s white paper marks the third set of guidelines proposed by the ASHRAE group.  In 2004, the group recommended Class 1 temperature as 68˚-77˚F. In 2008, it was 64.4˚ – 80.6˚F. Today, 2008’s guidelines remain the same in terms of recommended range but greatly expand the allowable range in order to give operators more flexibility in doing compressor-less cooling (airside economizer) while also allowing a focus on the energy efficiency metric Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE).

Rather than paraphrasing the entire document, we have provided the link embedded above and would encourage you to read it and become that much more able to converse with your data center customers on a topic that should be very important to them. We welcome your feedback, questions and comments.

One of the improvements we feel you will find interesting is the search feature on the home page. When you are not sure where to go to find information, just type your subject in the search box and review the results. Then just click on the entry that best suits your needs and you’re there. Another feature we think is really neat is our new “locate a rep” area. When you want to know the name of a representative in a specific area, just zero in on the geographic region and click on the tack. Up pops a tag with all of their contact information, along with the option of logging into their website, to send an email or find directions. Concerning directions, Google is good but only guesses at where you are starting from, so you may need to move the starting point or type in your address.

Now, about this blog. First of all, it will be used by a number of different departments in Data Aire to discuss issues and products that are of interest to a broad number of users within our community. Like our new dap4 microprocessor (check it out under our featured content on the home page.) You will have a chance to comment on these topics, as well as read what others have posted. However, we reserve the right to review and remove comments that are not in good taste or intend to promote issues not pertinent to the topic.

Blog postings will be general in nature and intended to educate our audience, both user and representative. Check back in a week or two to view updates and new postings. We have some scheduled from Sales, Marketing and Engineering. Meanwhile, take your time and browse around the website and get comfortable with it. Then we’d love to hear some feedback from you. We will also be reviewing the website and taking your comments into consideration. Our website will be dynamic and the changes we make will be from both internal and external sources. Enjoy!