Emerson receives U.S. patent for high-density data center cooling technology

Emerson Network Power (NYSE: EMR) announced that it has received a U.S. patent for its energy-saving Liebert XD cooling technology for high heat density data center applications.

The pumped refrigerant-based cooling technology featured in the Liebert XD family is the first rack- and row-based cooling solution to address high density at the rack level, claims the company. The product line includes the Liebert XDV rack-mount, Liebert XDO ceiling-mount, Liebert XDH row-based and Liebert XDR rear door cooling modules. Originally designed to address hot spots or zones within the data center, the Liebert XD cooling modules provide cooling directly at the source of the heat without overcooling the whole data center, says the company.

See also: Emerson adds advanced controls to data center refrigerant chiller system

“As the complexity and criticality of the data center continues to increase, and virtualization and consolidation become common occurrences in the data center environment, data center managers need flexible and efficient cooling solutions that meet today’s demands and help prepare them for what’s next,” comments Steve Madara, vice president, global cooling, Emerson Network Power. “The Liebert XD cooling technology has quickly become a basic building block of the data center of the future, delivering the ability to meet the needs of today’s 10, 20 and 30 kW racks while offering the ability to support densities of 60 kW or higher in the future.”

Emerson estimates that the Liebert XD system can reduce the data center’s air conditioning energy consumption up to 30 percent when utilized as supplemental cooling and up to 70 percent when deployed as the primary cooling. Implementing the Liebert XD solution requires 15-50 percent less chiller plant capacity, as well as less diesel generator and switch gear capacity, resulting in a potential energy savings of 40-50 percent for data center energy consumption, according to Emerson.

The flexible configuration of the Liebert XD system modules also allows scalability for future growth, as well as the ability to efficiently add redundant units for maximum reliability in the most mission-critical applications. The Liebert XD approach improves floor space utilization compared to an installation using only floor-mounted cooling units, contends the company. Because of the variety of cooling module sizes and placement, installing more Liebert XD capacity typically uses little or no additional floor area.

More coverage: Emerson unveils data center energy consumption e-book, calculator