Cooling control for data centers with cold aisle containment systems

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to the field of data center cooling and energy management. In some embodiments disclosed herein, a pressure within a cold aisle containment enclosure within a data center is controlled by a controller through the use of active floor damper panels.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A portion of a data center utilizing cold aisle containment, comprising:
 a cold aisle containment enclosure;   first and second rows of enclosures housing IT equipment, the first and second rows of enclosures being on opposite sides of, and sharing, the cold aisle containment enclosure;   an under-floor cold air supply plenum to provide cold supply air to the cold aisle containment enclosure;   an active damper floor tile between the under-floor cold air supply plenum and the cold aisle containment enclosure;   a differential pressure sensor located in the cold aisle containment enclosure to measure a pressure within the cold aisle containment enclosure; and   a cold aisle containment (CAC) controller to:
 compare the pressure measurement from the differential pressure sensor to a differential pressure set point; and 
 modulate the active damper floor tile based on the comparison between the pressure measurement from the differential pressure sensor and the differential pressure set point to control a flow of the cold supply air from the under-floor cold air supply plenum to the cold aisle containment enclosure. 
   
     
     
         2 . The portion of the data center of  claim 1 , comprising:
 a plenum pressure sensor located in the under-floor cold air supply plenum to measure a pressure within the under-floor cold air supply plenum.   
     
     
         3 . The portion of the data center of  claim 1 , wherein the CAC controller is to:
 compare the measured pressure in the under-floor cold air supply plenum from the penum pressure sensor to a plenum pressure set point; and   modulate a fan speed of a cooling unit in the data center based on the comparison between the measured pressure in the under-floor cold air supply plenum and the plenum pressure set point.   
     
     
         4 . The portion of the data center of  claim 1 , wherein the CAC controller is to:
 compare the pressure measurement from the differential pressure sensor to the differential pressure set point in response to determining that the measured pressure in the under-floor cold air supply plenum matches the plenum pressure set point.