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Data centers are the powerhouses of the digital era, storing the servers that run everything from online shopping to social media. However, all this processing power comes at a cost – a tremendous amount of heat generated. In order to prevent these facilities from turning into giant furnaces, data centers employ intricate cooling systems that circulate chilled water through heat exchangers located near the servers; this chilled water absorbs heat from the servers while circulating, preventing them from overheating. With circulating chilled water comes the need for a reliable chilled water piping system and this is where precise water flow regulation comes in, playing a vital role in ensuring efficient and reliable data center operation.
Investing in Quality Fittings
A data center with its massive cooling system also indicates the presence of extensive pipes and fittings for its cooling infrastructure. As such, the total number of valves and fittings present in such a cooling system can number in the thousands, meaning that the influence caused by these items such as butterfly valves and strainers can add up to be a significant amount in the system.
Employing the use of top-tier pipes, valves, and fittings with minimal pressure drop, ensures long-lasting performance and minimises resistance within the data center cooling system. Minimising pressure drop and flow resistance can allow data centers to save costs on energy lost by increasing the system efficiency. Meanwhile the longevity of higher quality valves is consonant with minimising leaks and disruptions from faulty valves and fittings. Together, these factors can greatly contribute to not just cost savings for the operation of the data centers, but also the stability and performance of the servers themselves. With the aim of ensuring that valves and fittings are of the highest quality, it is important to obtain these items from reputable brands that are well-established in the industry.
Balancing of Water Flow
Precise water flow regulation is the process of meticulously adjusting the flow of chilled water throughout the cooling system. This ensures that each heat exchanger receives the optimal amount of cool water needed to effectively remove heat from its designated servers. By having optimal distribution of cool water, a few but important benefits can be obtained for the system.
First, by properly balancing the flow distribution of chilled water throughout the heat exchangers, it will ensure that all servers receive adequate cooling without any excess water being pumped through the systems to compensate for unfavoured zones. This translates to reduced energy consumption and lower operational costs.
Consistent cooling through proper balancing also prevents servers from experiencing uneven thermal stress, which can ensure consistent and optimal server performance without any fear of throttling for servers due to hot spots. Uneven thermal stress can even cause heat-related failures in the worst-case scenarios, which directly results in shorter lifespan for server components – all of which can be prevented with proper balancing.
Investing in Balance
Performing precise water flow regulation during the commissioning phase of a data center is crucial. Additionally, regular re-balancing is recommended to account for changes in server load or equipment layout over time. In order to achieve proper balancing, specialised valves such as static balancing valves, pressure independent control valves (PICVs) as well as intelligent control valves are used to ensure hydronic balancing of cooling to each server rack is optimised. Even with higher costs found in the more recent balancing technologies such as PICVs or intelligent control valves, the long-term benefits will still outweigh the initial investment.
Data Center Energy Efficiency
In today's data-driven world, data center efficiency is paramount due to the huge scale of energy consumption; it is reported that Google and Microsoft in their drive to sustain development of AI models, has led to data centers consuming power in total of more than some entire countries. As such any increase in energy efficiency can lead to huge savings in terms of costs and energy footprint. By ensuring the use of quality fittings and precise water flow regulation, data centers can operate with lower energy consumption, extend equipment life, and guarantee optimal server performance. A well-designed cooling system is an investment that pays off in the long run, keeping data centers cool, efficient, and reliable.
We at Val-Technik would be able to provide professional opinion on the appropriate setups for balancing valves and offer optimal quality products from reputable global brands for use in key thermal energy distribution systems within data centers.
For more information and consultation regarding the different types of valves frequently employed in data center cooling systems, please email us at sales@val-technik.com.sg or call 6742 2770.
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