and at the ends of the cold aisles to eliminate “short-circuiting” (the mixing of

hot and cold air). These changes should reduce fan energy requirements by
20–25 percent, and could result in a 20 percent energy savings on the chiller side.
With an upflow CRAC unit, combining pairs of racks with a permeable barrier
creates a system in which hot air can be immediately exhausted to the plenum.
Unfortunately, if the hot-cool aisle placement is reversed (with the cold aisles being
the ducted aisles), the working (human) spaces would be hot—at temperatures up
to or even above 90ºF3.
VENTILATED RACKS
The ideal air management system would duct cooling air directly to the intake side
of the rack and draw hot air from the exhaust side, without diffusing it through the
data center room space at all. Specialized rack products that utilize integral rack
plenums that closely approximate this ideal operation are beginning to appear on
the market. Custom solutions can also be designed using the well defined design
principles used for heat and fume exhaust systems.
Such designs should be evaluated on the basis of their effectiveness in capturing hot
exhaust air with a minimum of ambient air mixing (typically achieved by placing
the capture opening very close to the hot exhaust) and factoring in any fan energy
costs associated with the systems. Exhaust systems typically have far higher fan
energy costs than standard returns, so the use of small diameter ducting or hoses
and multiple small fans should be carefully evaluated to ensure that additional fan
power cost does not seriously reduce or eliminate the savings anticipated from
improved air management.
OPTIMIZED SUPPLY/RETURN CONFIGURATION
All of the design methods discussed above are approaches to optimizing the airflow
through a data center to minimize the mixing of cool supply air and hot waste heat
from the equipment. A comprehensive design approach to air management is the
single best approach to improving efficiency; however, in retrofit situations or where
no resources are available to properly implement airflow control, some simple,
low-cost steps can help a data center operate slightly more efficiently.
Diffusers that dump air straight down should be selected and located directly in front
of racks, not above or behind. Unlike an office space design, diffusers should be
selected and placed in order to dump air directly to where it can be drawn in the
equipment, rather than to provide a fully mixed room without human-sensible
drafts. The thermostat should be located in an area in front of the computer
equipment, not on a wall behind the equipment. Finally, where a rooftop unit is
being used, it should be located centrally over the served area – the required
reduction in ductwork will lower cost and slightly improve efficiency. While 7
maintenance and roof leak concerns may preclude locating the unit directly over