ASHRAE recently released “Liquid Cooling Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers,” second edition, a guide for implementing liquid cooling systems in data centers. The guide provides guidelines on interface requirements between chilled-water systems and technology cooling systems and on the requirements of liquid-cooled systems that attach to a datacom electronics rack.
Data center rack heat loads are steadily climbing, creating a need for liquid cooling solutions to reduce the volume of airflow needed, ASHRAE says. “There is an increasing interest in liquid-cooled IT equipment at the rack, equipment and component levels,” says Don Beaty, publication chair of Technical Committee 9.9., Mission Critical Facilities, Data Centers, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment. “There is also increased interest in reuse of the heat rejected from IT equipment. One of the more important changes to the second edition is the addition of supply water temperature classification.”
The addition of liquid classes can have a similar effect on the industry as the creation of supply air temperature classes did—which was the critical enabler to the use of economizers in data centers, Beaty says. “There are five water temperature classes with the highest temperature class being >45 C (113 F), which opens up possibilities for using the rejected heat for building heating systems,” he said.
Related Stories
| May 10, 2012
Resilience should be considered a sustainability factor
Since a sustainable building is one you don't have to rebuild, some building sustainability experts believe adding points for "resilience" to storms and earthquakes to the LEED sustainability rating tool makes sense.
| May 10, 2012
University of Michigan research project pushes envelope on green design
A research project underway at the University of Michigan will test the potential of intelligent building envelopes that are capable of monitoring weather, daylight, and occupant use to manage heating, cooling, and lighting.
| May 10, 2012
Fire suppression agents go greener
Environmental sensitivity is helping to drive adoption of new fire suppression agents.
| May 10, 2012
Industry groups urge Congress to leave contracting decisions to agencies
An organization of several industry groups urged Congress to leave many contracting decisions to the discretion of individual agencies by avoiding blanket mandates.
| May 10, 2012
OSHA proposes new rule to have employers find and fix hazards
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed a new regulation, Injury and Illness Prevention Program, or I2P2, which would compel employers to find and fix safety hazards.
| May 3, 2012
Stay current on green codes at AGC Environmental Conference
Keep abreast of market trends such as 2012 changes to green standards and codes at the AGC Contractors Environmental Conference, June 7-8, 2012 in Arlington, Va.
| May 3, 2012
OSHA reduces fines in Cincinnati casino collapse
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has reduced the number of violations from four to two against four firms it cited earlier this month in the collapse of a casino under construction in Cincinnati.
| May 3, 2012
New York City implements controversial crane licensing requirements
New York City officials announced strict new licensing and testing requirements for all crane operators in New York City to raise safety standards.
| May 3, 2012
Green-roof requirement now includes industrial facilities in Toronto
A mandate that requires installation of green roofs on new commercial and residential buildings in Toronto has been expanded to include industrial facilities.
