Abstract
A novel hybrid cooling architecture is proposed to reduce the power consumption requirement for cooling of data centres. Countries with lower humidity levels make use of energy efficient methods of cooling, direct or indirect evaporative cooling instead of energy-intensive-compressor-based refrigerant cycle systems. In evaporative cooling water spray droplets absorb the heat to evaporate and thus cools the process air to be sent into data centre. However, this process is more efficient in dry climates as lower humidity creates the required potential for enhanced evaporation. However, in tropical climates average humidity levels are about 70- 80 % RH throughout the year. The proposed idea aims to use low temperature waste heat (emitted by the IT systems) from data centres to dehumidify the ambient air being used in the Indirect evaporative cooler to increase the efficiency of the cooler by 25%. The moisture recovered from the air is subsequently condensed and reused for the system’s cooling tower. So, in net effect by utilizing the waste heat available in the data centre, efficiency of the indirect evaporative cooler is improved, and the total overall water consumption will be reduced. The current work describes the design of a such a hybrid architecture in a humid climate. A commercial IEC chiller is chosen for reference and the performance increase with the proposed dehumidifier is illustrated. The scope also includes discussion about the design of the novel low temperature liquid desiccant-based dehumidifier, which operates under partial vacuum to be able to be regenerated by low temperature waste heat (50- 55 deg C). Finally, the annual energy savings analysis and the expected return on investment is discussed for such a system in a tropical humid climate.
https://ror.org/02e7b5302 
