Free cooling

Why should you be reading this?

Free Cooling is the fast and effective way to reduce your energy costs and your carbon footprint on cooling your server room or data centre. It’s the smart choice for both the environment and your company’s finances. Return on investment is outstanding, with payback in as little as six months.

By using Free Cooling technology, you can save massive amounts of energy compared to the traditional use of refrigerated equipment, especially during autumn, winter and spring.

Free cooling technology can be retro fitted to existing chilled water systems as well as built into new ones. The benefits are particularly noticeable when applied to the provision of 24/7 critical data storage and processing services which bring about round the clock requirements for heat removal.

What does Free Cooling do?

Free Cooling technology allows a heat exchange to take place between the warm return flow of water from the server room or data centre and the out door ambient air without running energy hungry compressors in the system’s chillers. Free Cooling can be used in varying degrees when the out door ambient temperature is lower than the cooling system’s water temperature.

Because of the inherent 24/7 reliance on critical IT environments and the lower ambient temperature at night Free Cooling lends itself particularly well to IT applications.

How much money can Free Cooling save me?

The total energy saving from Free Cooling is dependent on the water temperature your system runs at. The higher the water the more often you can use Free Cooling.

In the UK the recorded temperature range at which Free cooling can be applied is from between -11C up to +19C. The chart to the right shows average ambient UK temperatures and the percentage of time at which free cooling could be used.

As well as saving energy Free Cooling significantly increases chiller life time and reduces maintenance costs due to the reduced workload on the compressors.

How much does it cost?

The cost of fee cooling is dependent on the size of the system as well as a number of other variables although the ROI is typically 6-12 months. In many cases the capital cost of Free Cooling can be covered by a Carbon Trust Energy Saving Loan which is interest free and only repayable at the rate at which the energy saving saves you money.

What to do next?

• Have an informal chat with one of our sales engineers on 01276 405 326
• Purchase a customized cooling audit package to learn how much free cooling and other improvements and technologies can save you
• Arrange a free site survey
• Visit the Carbon Trust website to find out if your company qualifies for an interest free energy saving loan