Economization

Economization is the process of using outdoor ambient to reject heat. When conditions allow, economization a crucial tool for data centers to reduce energy consumption, operating costs, and data center greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By using “free” cooling from the environment, economization can dramatically reduce the energy consumed by traditional mechanical data center cooling systems.

However, implementing effective economization requires careful consideration of local climate, cooling requirements, and integration with existing MEP infrastructure. Operators must balance energy savings against potential risks to sensitive equipment.

Despite challenges, the industry is embracing economization, with innovative approaches like liquid cooling enabling even greater opportunities. Direct liquid cooling (DLC), for example, enables increased economization. Where elevated facility water temperatures are achievable, the system will benefit from an increase in economization (both reducing chiller tons and increasing the number of economization hours). Expanding facility water system ΔT can also improve the efficiency of existing chillers and fluid coolers since lower flow rates will cause increased contact time in heat exchangers.

To get an 80°F supply air temperature we typically target 70°F chilled water to cooling coils. For liquid cooling, in many cases, we can make 80°F (W27) facility water, and in some cases higher (over 100°F). That means our data center chillers don’t have to work as hard and we can economize many more hours of the year for a given location. That means we save a lot of energy, and we can often reduce the size or eliminate compressors altogether (depending on location, available heat transfer surface area and peak ambient design conditions).

At Stream Data Centers, our advanced cooling designs and configurable data center design maximize free cooling opportunities, tailored to each site’s unique conditions and customer needs. As the industry grapples with explosive growth and environmental responsibility, economization strategies will be key to building a more sustainable, efficient, and resilient digital infrastructure.

Explore more in our whitepaper Liquid Cooling is More Sustainable.