Data Center Heat Rejection

Data center heat rejection is the process of removing excess heat generated by IT equipment and infrastructure within a data center facility to the outside environment. If not managed properly, the heat can accumulate and cause reduced performance or downtime.

While all data centers need to have a data center cooling and heat rejection system in place to keep their facility running efficiently, they do not all need to use the same method. Data center managers take facility size, equipment power density, environmental factors, and other factors into consideration.

What are some Examples of Data Center Heat Rejection Methods?

In order to keep data center equipment at an optimal temperature, data center managers use heat rejection methods such as:

• Air cooling which uses cold air to reduce high temperatures. There are many different types of air cooling methods such as calibrated vectored cooling, close-coupled cooling, and computer room air conditioner (CRAC) systems.
• Liquid cooling which uses a liquid coolant to remove heat from data center equipment. Types of liquid cooling methods include direct-to-chip cooling, immersion cooling, and water cooling.
• Evaporative cooling, or swamp cooling, which absorbs warm air. When the absorbed water evaporates, the surrounding air drops in temperature. This cool air is sent to cool off the data center.
• Free cooling uses outdoor air or water from a data center’s external environment to cool equipment. These natural resources can be used in heat rejection practices such as strainer cycles, plate and frame heat exchange, and refrigeration migration.

How Are Data Centers Reusing Heat?

Rather than expel the heat into the air, some data centers around the world divert the heat from data center equipment to nearby communities that can make use of it.

Examples of reusing data center waste heat include:

• Heating and providing hot water for nearby homes and offices
• Heating greenhouse environments to maintain optimal temperatures for plant growth
• Heating swimming pools, spas, and recreational water facilities
• Heating air or water for industrial applications

Simplify Data Center Heat Rejection with DCIM Software

Much of a data center’s expenses are due to the energy costs of running the cooling system. Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software helps reduce data center energy consumption by increasing overall data center efficiency.

DCIM software collects, reports, trends, and alerts on live measured readings from environmental sensors such as humidity and temperature. This provides data center managers with a clear understanding of when to change set points and by how much without introducing risk. DCIM software makes it easy to visualize hot spots with thermal time-lapse videos, avoid overcooling and wasting money, keep cabinets with ASHRAE guidelines, and increase data center sustainability.

Want see how Sunbird’s world-leading DCIM software makes it easy for you to avoid overcooling and wasting energy? Get your free test drive now!