ST Engineering launches cooling system for greener data centers
ST Engineering says the Airbitat DC Cooling System delivers powerful pre-cooling for tropical data centers, achieving annual net energy savings of more than 20% over conventional chiller systems alone.
The company says this translates to annual energy savings of about $104 per kW of heat load.
ST Engineering says this is an innovation by its Urban Environment Solutions (UES) business, and the new product is supported by live system data and eight years of engineering, R-D and patented evaporative cooling technology.
The Airbitat DC Cooling System enables data centers to reach a targeted PUE of below 1.3, which ST Engineering says is a significant improvement over current regulatory requirements for data centers in Singapore.
ST Engineering says the Airbitat DC Cooling System aims to help the data center industry address its most critical challenge today to support its long-term sustainable growth.
The International Energy Agency estimates that the data center industry currently uses around 1% of the world's electricity, which could reach double digits by 2030. In Singapore, data centers accounted for 7% of Singapore's electricity requirements in 2020.
ST Engineering says over 40% of a data center's energy needs are used for cooling. It says data centers commonly use conventional water-cooled chiller systems, which not only have high energy and water consumption requirements but also release waste heat into the environment.
The company says with demand for data center services set to heighten against the backdrop of climate change, more efficient and effective cooling technologies will be critical to ensure the sustainable growth of the industry.
ST Engineering head of urban environment solutions Gareth Tang says through re-engineering its established Airbitat solution for the data center environment, the company has successfully developed a sustainable solution that significantly cuts energy consumption while reducing carbon intensity and Urban Heat Island Effect.
"Its ability to be readily deployed in existing data centers presents an attractive option for operators who are looking for cost-effective solutions to lower energy consumption and achieve their sustainability targets," he says.
"With the exponential growth in compute-intensive applications and increasing data needs, the data center industry is fast reaching its sustainability tipping point. We believe that the Airbitat DC Cooling System can help the industry address its most critical challenge today and support its growth in a more sustainable manner."
Features of the Airbitat DC Cooling System
ST Engineering says the Airbitat DC Cooling System comprises a Dual Coil Computer Room Air Handler (CRAH) and a Deep Cooling Unit powered by the patented Reevac Deep Cooling technology. The Airbitat DC Cooling System works by pre-cooling the hot return air in the data hall to reduce over 40% of the heat load from the existing chiller system.
Additionally, the Airbitat DC Cooling System does not generate waste heat into the environment as it does not use energy-intensive compressors or refrigerants. It also has lower water consumption requirements compared to conventional water-cooled chiller systems.
The Airbitat DC Cooling System can operate under varied climate conditions, from hot and humid to hot and dry environments. Its smart controls detect ambient psychrometric conditions and automatically adjust its cooling modes in real-time for consistent energy-efficient cooling. ST Engineering says its modular design and ability to scale on demand accommodate different data center cooling requirements as well as structural and layout constraints, allowing for easy integration in both brownfield and greenfield developments.
