October 22, 2009 -- Vette Corp (Portsmouth, NH), a provider of data center thermal management solutions, has been selected by Syracuse University and IBM to deliver cooling infrastructure in what those parties claim will be one of the world`s most energy-efficient data centers.
The new data center project represents a partnership among Vette, Syracuse University, IBM, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The data center is expected to use 50 percent less energy than a typical data center, making it one of the greenest computer centers in operation.
According to a press release, the $12.4 million, 6,000-square-foot data center will use smarter technologies focusing on the actual infrastructure of the data center itself, not just the computer hardware and software. A key element will be an on-site electrical co-generation system that will use natural gas-fueled microturbine engines to generate all electricity for the data center and provide cooling for the computer servers. The data center will be able to operate completely off-grid.
IBM and Syracuse are creating a liquid cooling system that will use double-effect absorption chillers to convert the exhaust heat from the microturbines into chilled water that is used to cool the data center's servers, with sufficient excess cooling to handle the needs of an adjacent building. The IT equipment will be cooled using Vette Corp`s water cooled LiquiCool rear door heat exchangers rather than with traditional air cooling such as computer room air conditioners (CRAC). Vette says its LiquiCool units remove heat from each enclosure far more efficiently than conventional room cooling methods.
"A data center uses approximately 40 times more energy than an office building of equivalent size and the cooling infrastructure represents approximately half of the total energy use within the data center," comments Joe Capes, general manager, Vette Corp Datacom division. "By deploying Vette`s LiquiCool rear door
heat exchangers, Syracuse will consume dramatically less energy and realize significant efficiency gains and cost savings."
The Vette LiquiCool is a water cooled door that mounts to the back of IT enclosures and cools computer equipment exhaust air before it re-enters the data center operating environment. The company says its rear door heat exchanger utilizes a low impedance fin and tube heat exchanger that does not have fans, moving parts or electrical connections, resulting in a dramatic reduction of cooling energy consumption.
Vette claims its data center liquid cooling solutions can be deployed without any operational impact to IT enclosures or equipment, and may save up to 84% in electrically active white space.
On the Web:www.vettecorp.com