by Brianna Crandall — July 10, 2015—Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson and a global provider of critical infrastructure for information and communications technology systems, introduced this week the Liebert PDX and Liebert PCW compact perimeter cooling systems for data centers, which feature another recently introduced product, the Liebert iCOM thermal control for data centers.
Liebert PDX and Liebert PCW compact perimeter cooling systems
The Liebert PDX and Liebert PCW perimeter cooling systems are engineered to help facilities and data center managers achieve the highest efficiency and protection with low capital, installation and maintenance costs, as well as the industry’s most compact footprint. The new systems are available in North America.
Created for small and medium information technology (IT) spaces and telecommunication switching offices, the thermal management systems replace what the company calls the industry standard, the Liebert Challenger 3000 compact cooling system.
The efficiency of the Liebert PDX perimeter cooling system reportedly exceeds new U.S. Department of Energy minimum efficiency standards for data center equipment, which apply to certain direct expansion systems shipped after January 1, 2016. For instance, the system in 18kW capacity is 13 percent more efficient than the efficiency standards. As a family, they offer the industry’s highest net capacity per square foot, claims Emerson. The Liebert PDX direct expansion cooling system is 25 percent more efficient than the Liebert Challenger, while the Liebert PCW compact chilled water cooling system is twice as efficient.
“Today’s smaller space IT environments are more complex, with data centers putting a focus on infrastructure flexibility, scalability and energy efficiency while maintaining the highest levels of availability,” said John Peter Valiulis, vice president, North America marketing, thermal management, Emerson Network Power. “The Liebert PDX and Liebert PCW compact perimeter cooling system family offers ideal solutions to these challenges while lowering operating costs and packing a lot of capacity into the industry’s most compact footprint.”
The Liebert PDX and Liebert PCW compact perimeter cooling systems are available in upflow and downflow configurations, with the direct expansion system having nominal ratings of 18kW (5 tons), 23kW (6.5 tons) and 29kW (8 tons) and the chilled water system having nominal ratings of 17kW (5 tons) and 29kW (8 tons).
The thermal management systems feature another recently introduced product, the integrated Liebert iCOM unit control, designed to provide the highest level of protection and efficiency with fast and easy deployment and commissioning. It is described below.
Liebert iCOM thermal controls
The new Liebert iCOM thermal controls offer facilities managers and data center managers higher energy efficiency, greater protection and deeper, actionable insight at the cooling unit and thermal management system levels. Available in North America, the next generation of Liebert iCOM unit and supervisory system controls comprise an easy-to-use infrastructure optimization system for monitoring and managing the data center environment and controlling the operation of data center thermal management systems.
“The Liebert iCOM controls let managers protect, harmonize and optimize thermal systems more intuitively than ever before,” said Valiulis. “Its most powerful capabilities are in protecting the data center at the cooling unit level and in auto-tuning the multiple thermal system components across the entire data center, operating them in tandem in the most efficient and reliable manner. This ‘teamwork mode’ can result in cooling energy savings of up to 50 percent.”
At the cooling unit level, the Liebert iCOM unit control comes factory installed on certain Emerson Network Power data center thermal management systems and also is available as a retrofit for existing systems. Its highly intuitive, full-color, touch screen is engineered to simplify operation, save time and reduce human error. It is designed to eliminate single points of failure to protect the cooling unit in the event that adverse conditions arise at the system level. Self-optimizing features address events before they become problems. For instance, if refrigerant pressures were to approach unsafe thresholds, the Liebert iCOM unit control would lower fan speed and compressor capacity to avoid a unit shutdown.
At the supervisory level, the new Liebert iCOM-S control offers a “revolutionary” way to harmonize and optimize thermal system performance across the data center, gain quick access to actionable data, and automate system diagnostics and trending. It uses machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and advanced algorithms that utilize data from rack inlet sensors, pressure sensors and supply air temperatures to optimize airflow and temperature for the highest protection and efficiency.
The pre-programmed teamwork modes of the Liebert iCOM-S optimize and harmonize the entire thermal management system. This type of communication prevents units from working at cross-purposes and allows the system as a whole to adapt to changes in facility-level demand as efficiently as possible to improve efficiency and availability, and reduce system wear and tear. For instance, four data center cooling units with variable capacity fans in teamwork mode can operate 56 percent more efficiently than four fixed speed units operating autonomously. Teamwork mode can be used in small and large data centers, creating a self-healing infrastructure that detects adverse events and resolves issues before problems arise.
The Liebert iCOM-S can also result in up to 20-30 percent lower installation costs by streamlining setup and reducing or eliminating the need for custom integration to building management systems, says Emerson. It can automatically detect and configure up to 4,800 wireless rack sensors as they are added, removed or changed, providing a single point for binding room sensors to cooling unit control groups. It lets managers easily import floor plans for quick setup and customization, and is preconfigured for simple building management system (BMS) integration. The large-format, touch-screen graphical interface significantly reduces the time it takes to configure the cooling system, change set points, identify adverse events and monitor system thresholds.
The Liebert iCOM control may be supported by optional on-site control optimization service and 24-hour tech support, with a guaranteed four-hour service response time for contract customers.
