Research on application of temperature and humidity independentcontrol air conditioning systems to data centers

By analysing the composition of cooling loads and ventilation characteristics in data center air conditioning systems, this paper presents a temperature and humidity independent control air conditioning system suitable for data centers. The temperature control is achieved by the indoor precision air conditioning unit handling cooling loads from IT equipment and lighting. The humidity control is managed by a dedicated outdoor air unit addressing cooling loads from the building envelope and outdoor air. This study describes schematic diagrams of the temperature and humidity independent control system, illustrates its summer/winter air handling processes on psychrometric charts, conducts energy analysis, and compares it with conventional systems. Simulation and comparisons are performed for a specified data center. The results from 10 cities across 5 thermal climate zones demonstrate that compared with conventional data center air conditioning systems, the temperature and humidity independent control system achieves both energy and water conservation, with an energy saving rate exceeding 7.5% and a water saving rate surpassing 32%.