HP Data Center Uses Free-cooling All But 20 Hours Per Year

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February 12, 2010

A new HP data center in England will be able to rely on filtered outside air for IT cooling needs for all but 20 hours a year, reports Data Center Journal.

While the new data center cost 6 percent more to construct than conventional ones, it is expected to make up the difference in energy savings over the long haul.

The data center, located in Wynhard, England, gained unexpected notoriety when ComputerWorld erroneously reported that that the facility was wind-cooled.

In practice, the facility has a fresh air circulation mode in which warm air is added to incoming cold air in order to maintain a constant 24 degrees Celsius, reports Data Center Dynamics.

Eight inlet fans draw air from the server zone through bag filters before it is recirculated.

The data center has batteries and generators in the case of blackouts. If needed, it can run up to four days on its own.

In 2008, Google claimed to have the most efficient data centers in the world. Much of the past two years has seen computing giants try to outdo one another with data center efficiency and technology breakthroughs.

Reader Comments

HP is to be commended for its work to reduce the carbon cost of its data centre. But surely most of the “magic” in using “free” cooling, isn’t in the design or “greentech” of the centre, but in locating the centre in centre in North East England, rather than Sonoma Californiac

NIGEL MORRIS | February 17th, 2010