What are the benefits of hot and cold aisle containment for the data center?

(1) Reliability can be improved by preventing the occurrence of hot spots. Air containment prevents the mixing of hot and cold air streams, thereby providing IT equipment with a uniform, cooler intake air temperature that reduces the occurrence of hot spots.

(2) The power density of the cabinet can be increased by eliminating the recirculation of hot return air. For a traditional raised floor data center without air containment measures, the rack power density is typically kept below an average of 6 kW/rack to prevent hot air from IT equipment from recirculating back into the IT equipment. By using air containment and sealing the holes, the hot air recirculation path is cut off, so the power density of the cabinet can be increased without the threat of hot spots.

(3) Improve the cooling capacity by increasing the "temperature difference" of the air passing through the cooling device (the temperature difference between the cold supply air and the hot return air). In a traditional raised floor data center without containment measures, more than 50% of the cold air supplied by the cooling unit will bypass the IT equipment and return directly to the cooling unit due to some leakage paths. With containment, the supply of cool air is directed directly to the IT equipment, absorbing heat and delivering that heat to the cooling unit. The higher the exhaust temperature, the larger the temperature difference of the refrigeration unit will be, which can increase the refrigeration capacity by 20% or even higher.

(4) Because the air containment system is adopted, which can effectively isolate the hot and cold air flow, the redundant refrigeration devices can be closed, thereby improving the energy saving of the refrigeration system. When the temperature is below the indoor temperature, the compressor of the refrigeration system does not have to work to remove the heat outside.