Energy efficiency optimization analysis for a cooling composite air conditioning system for internet data centers

• Published in: HVAC&R research Vol. 30; no. 9; pp. 1167 - 1181
• Main Authors: Li, Zhao, Tong, Jihua, Zheng, Zhuling, Dong, Pengli, Yang, Shangqing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Taylor & Francis 20-10-2024; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Air conditioning; Cooling; Cooling systems; Data analysis; Data centers; Demand; Energy consumption; Energy efficiency; Hybrid modes; Internet; Optimization; Refrigerants; Vapor compression refrigeration
• ISSN: 2374-4731; 2374-474X
• DOI: 10.1080/23744731.2024.2321817

In this study, a validated mathematical model for a composite air conditioning system was established based on onsite test data. The system consists of a refrigerant pump driven two-phase cooling loop (RPTCL) and vapor compression refrigeration (VCR) cycles. The system can be switched to refrigerant pump (RP) mode, compressor mode, or hybrid mode, according to the outdoor temperature. By analyzing, the inadequacy of the existing Internet Data center (IDC) air conditioning system operation strategy was confirmed, and subsequently, five optimization strategies were proposed. The optimization strategies took two identical composite air conditioning systems as optimization unit, and under the premise of meeting the demand for cooling capacity, maximizing the operating time of RP and hybrid mode, which with higher energy efficiency, through complementary cooling capacity, to reduce the energy consumption. Meanwhile, when the cooling supply was higher than the demand, paired with optimization unit's ON/OFF ratio control, the unit's energy consumption was further reduced. The most optimization strategy provided 525.6 MWh of cooling energy to meet demand while consuming a minimum of 182.5 MWh. The optimization strategy also achieved a minimum of 12.1% and a maximum of 52.5% energy savings for IDCs in other climate zones of China.