[AusNOG] Data Suburb

[Lincoln Dale]

On Fri, Jan 6, 2012 at 8:13 AM, John Edwards <john at netniche.com.au> wrote:

> On 05/01/2012, at 8:02 AM, Lincoln Dale wrote:
>
>
> its also not "poor" given the ambient temperatures seen in the geography
> where the site is located.
> the physical site is more about where there is "cheap power" and "cheap
> land", not "optimal ambient temperatures".
> i'd hate to see how much water they go through though!
>
>
> High Ambient temperature is not necessarily the determining factor in your
> cooling power costs.
>
> If you're prepared to use evaporative cooling, you can get an energy "free
> ride" down to the "wet bulb temperature".
>

sure. at the cost of 90%+ humidity, something that you can get away with
for a little while but something i can guarantee isn't ideal for all of the
equipment inside a data center!



> Seeley in Adelaide have developed their "climate wizard" product to take
> advantage of this phenomenon and reduce energy costs, so it can be used to
> pre-cool the air for a more traditional air conditioning plant, or replace
> it altogether where high air flows are appropriate (not usually a problem
> in a DC!).
>

certainly Seeley have 'indirect evaporation' units which remove many of the
issues associated with swamp coolers.
Its not just Seeley that have them, take a look at the Coolerado.  indirect
evap where you saturate one air stream cooling it with evaporation and use
that in a heat exchanger to cool a secondary airstream isn't a new concept
per-se.

BUT - suggest you look into the actual running costs - both power AND
water, and its a bit of an eye opener. the running costs are higher than
many think.

i've done the math of the thermodynamics.  and in Melbourne at least, the
economics of it don't stack up whatsoever, at least for residential use.
i found the cost of running it actually exceeds refrigerative cooling,
partially because at least here in Victoria (even
pre-desalination-cost-hikes), your sewer charge is based on water
consumption.
and many people don't realize just how much water you lose to evaporation
on a swampy!

(if you want the math, i posted it probably 18 months ago on whirlpool in
some A/C thread, a search or two should be able to find it.)


cheers,

lincoln.
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