Emerson's Optimized Aisle Control Enhances Cooling Efficiency up to 30 Percent

Emerson Network Power’s Liebert cooling systems using Liebert iCOM with Optimized Aisle Control are the first cooling units in the industry that “decouple” the compressor and fan operation, allowing these components to operate independently to match the IT load and the airflow requirements. This matching of operation to room requirements results in warmer air returning to the cooling units, allowing them to operate more efficiently, eliminating overcooling of the space and saving energy.

Direct Expansion or Chilled Water cooling units with Liebert iCOM controls that employ the Optimized Aisle Control feature possess the ability to responsively control the airflow, temperature and humidity serving the IT equipment. This provides efficiency improvement of 10 to 30 percent, depending on row or aisle configuration and aisle containment.

Each controller can support 20 rack temperature sensors, as well as sensors for supply air temperature, return temperature and humidity, to optimize operation based on user-defined temperature and humidity targets. Liebert iCOM leverages the variable capacity fans and compressors in Liebert cooling systems, which allow the units to dynamically adjust capacity based on changing conditions and control airflow based on conditions at the rack.

The Liebert iCOM controls on Liebert cooling units communicate with each other via Ethernet to coordinate cooling capacity, zoned air flow distribution, failover protection and different modes of standby operation. Units connected in a unit-to-unit network and set to operate in Optimized Aisle Control mode can utilize a teamwork mode to share sensory data and provide coordinated cooling and humidity control among cooling units.

While in teamwork mode, the supply sensor uses the cooling and airflow required to maintain the discharge temperature at each unit. This compensates for unbalanced room load while maintaining a consistent discharge air temperature. The fan speed adjusts to the findings of the remote rack sensors, providing controlled delivery of the air to the cold aisle. This distribution is achieved by synchronizing all fans, within a designated zone, which will also provide IT managers with the greatest energy efficiency.

“Designing intelligence into the infrastructure is one of the most effective ways to improve data center efficiency,” said Steve Madara, vice president and general manager global precision cooling, Emerson Network Power. “Optimized Aisle Control delivers impressive gains in data center efficiency and availability. By significantly increasing the data gathered, leveraging variable capacity technology and applying proprietary algorithms, Optimized Aisle Control is able to save energy while protecting IT equipment and data center operations.”

Liebert iCOM is compatible with building management systems or data center infrastructure management systems via many open and/or proprietary communication protocols.