Exploiting Free cooling in data centre application

The era of digitization has taken full throttle, and we have become increasingly dependent on the virtual world and the information services it offers, spanning from cloud computing to artificial intelligence and large-scale data analytics. This growing demand has led to a corresponding increase in the energy consumption of data centres, which serve as the backbone of modern information structures. Additionally, the push for net-zero emissions scenarios has put pressure on various sectors, including data centres, to optimize their energy use and integrate greener sources into their energy mix. Proper server temperature regulation is critical for data centres, as overheating can significantly impact their quality of service offered. Furthermore, the load of electrical energy required for cooling of data centres eats up a big piece of the total slice of overall load demanded. This thesis explores the potential advantages of combining free cooling techniques and load management strategies to a hypothetical data center located in the colder regions of Europe, specifically Ireland. The free cooling technique is applied to the computer room air conditioning systems. Through the application of an optimization tool, XEMS13, this study aims to evaluate the results of the analysis and investigate the viability of a real life application considering the economic, energetic, and environmental benefits of the proposed cooling approach.