Editors:
Tom Harvey, Emerson Network Power
Michael Patterson, Ph.D., Intel
John Bean, Schneider Electric
In May 2011, the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) published updated guidelines for the “Recommended” and “Allowable” temperature and humidity of data centers. The new specification created two new classifications of data centers and expanded the range of Allowable environmental conditions in order to encourage energy efficiency practices like air-side economization. The Green Grid published Free Cooling maps in 2009 based on the ASHRAE 2008 Recommended ranges for temperature and humidity. Now, with the wider Allowable ranges, new maps showing the expanded potential for free cooling are needed to encourage design teams to incorporate these energy saving techniques.
The Green Grid survey of data center operators showed that use of economizers will result in saving an average of 20 percent of the money, energy, and carbon for cooling when compared to data center designs without economizers. The expanded ranges should allow greater savings in each data center, and increase the number of data centers that can take advantage of economization.
Updated Free Cooling Maps:
European Free Air Cooling High Res Map - ASHRAE Class A2 (Member Only)
European Free Air Cooling Low Res Map - ASHRAE Class A2
European Free Air Cooling High Res Map - ASHRAE Class A3 (Member Only)
European Free Air Cooling Low Res Map - ASHRAE Class A3
Japanese Free Air Cooling High Res Map - ASHRAE Class A2 (Member Only)
Japanese Free Air Cooling Low Res Map - ASHRAE Class A2
Japanese Free Air Cooling High Res Map - ASHRAE Class A3 (Member Only)
Japanese Free Air Cooling Low Res Map - ASHRAE Class A3
North American Free Air Cooling High Res Map - ASHRAE Class A2 (Member Only)
North American Free Air Cooling Low Res Map - ASHRAE Class A2
North American Free Air Cooling High Res Map - ASHRAE Class A3 (Member Only)
North American Free Air Cooling Low Res Map - ASHRAE Class A3