Airedale launch data centre chiller range, with Enhanced Free Cooling

Author: Beatrice

Airedale has announced the launch of the DCSTM range, a family of air-cooled chillers specifically optimised for demanding data centre environments, featuring ground-breaking Enhanced Free Cooling technology.

With uptime and energy efficiency hard-wired into every facet of their design, the DCSTM range has evolved from decades of worldwide data centre experience. The range has been specifically designed by the Data Centre Solutions team, based at Airedale’s global headquarters in Leeds, UK, to deliver powerful, reliable and sustainable cooling in the most demanding of environments.

Utilising existing Airedale chiller platforms, DeltaChill, TurboChill and OptiChill, the DCS team has implemented multiple upgrades to meet the unique requirements of the data centre market. Enhanced controls functionality, such as compressor fast-start and optimised head pressure control, has been added along with hardware upgrades such as battery-free UPS and Automatic Transfer Switches to conserve uptime. The chillers are also designed to operate at increased supply / return water temperatures (20/32oC), in line with data centre trends and to maximise free cooling potential. Available with a range of compressor technologies and refrigerants, including low GWP option R1234ze, and featuring the Enhanced Free Cooling package, this range of super-high efficiency chillers offers unparalleled energy savings and a much reduced carbon footprint.

Enhanced Free Cooling

With a complete redesign of the V-block condenser coils and the implementation of larger EC fans to maximise air flow, the Enhanced Free Cooling package is able to deliver a higher percentage of full free cooling over the course of a year. The mechanical upgrades, coupled with the ability of the DCS chillers to operate at increased maximum supply / return water temperatures, can deliver up to 39% annual energy cost savings over traditional free cooling methods. The reduced requirement for less mechanical cooling in turn reduces the stress on components such as compressors, thus reducing maintenance requirements and increasing longevity of the unit. Over its full life cycle, the combination of reduced energy consumption and lower approach temperatures leads to improved PUEs, allowing data centre operators to more easily meet their environmental targets.

• Larger 910mm EC fans delivering increased air flow (compared to 800mm on standard units)
• 5 rows of free cooling coils for increased free cooling capacity (compared to 3 rows on standard units)
• Increased maximum supply/return water temperatures, up to a maximum of 20/32oC (68/90oF)
• Closer approach temperatures

Patrick Cotton, Product Manager for chillers at Airedale, says, “In modern high-capacity data centres, balancing performance with sustainability, without compromising, is a priority, as data centre operators work hard to reduce their carbon footprint whilst maintaining availability during a global surge in demand for data.”

Patrick continues, “Working closely with some of the world’s largest data centre operators, we have been able to design and deliver our DCS range of chiller products to meet worldwide efficiency targets, whilst delivering the future of data centre cooling.”

The DCSTM chiller range includes TurboChill DCSTM (200kW to 1830kW), DeltaChill DCSTM (110kW to 1100kW) and OptiChill DCS (1850kW). Enhanced Free Cooling is available on TurboChill DCS and DeltaChill DCS.