Facility including externally disposed data center air handling units

• US 9,986,652 B1
• Filed: 10/12/2012
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Switch Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Switch Company Limited
• Inventors: Roy, Rob
• Primary Examiner(s): McAllister, Steven B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Miller, Samantha
• Application Number:
  US13/651,319
• Time in Patent Office: 2,055 Days
• Field of Search: 454184
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 25/005 using primary and secondary systems
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2700/173 of the evaporator fan
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/20 Cooling means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2015 Redundant power supplies power supply failure G06F1/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3062 where the monitored property is the power consumption power management in a computing system G06F1/3203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/201 Cooling arrangements using cooling fluid
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/00 Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or adjusting assemblages of electric components
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0213 Venting apertures; Constructional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/1497 Rooms for data centers; Shipping containers therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20145 Means for directing air flow, e.g. ducts, deflectors, plenum or guides
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20709 for server racks or cabinets; for data centers, e.g. 19-inch computer racks
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20745 within rooms for removing heat from cabinets, e.g. by air conditioning device

Abstract

Described herein is an integrated data center that provides for efficient cooling, as well as efficient wire routing.

Claims

1. An air conditioned facility that is provided a high volume of cooled air, the facility comprising:

a building having a ground level floor, an interior, an exterior load wall that provides a barrier against a periphery external environment, wherein the exterior load wall disposed between the interior of the building and the periphery external environment, the periphery external environment being located outside, and the exterior load wall having a plurality of heated air openings disposed adjacent to a corresponding plurality of return air openings;

a plurality of warm exhaust outlets ducts, each of the warm exhaust outlet ducts formed through one of the plurality of heated air openings;

a plurality of cool air inlet ducts, each of the cool air inlet ducts formed through one of the plurality of return air openings; and

a plurality of air conditioning apparatus disposed in the external environment, external to the building, and parallel to one another along the exterior load wall, each of the plurality of air conditioning apparatus being supported by a ground level support structure, each of the air conditioning apparatus including;

a fully enclosed cabinet disposed on the ground level support structure including insulated cabinet walls, cabinet floor and cabinet ceiling that prevent return air, cooled outside air and outside air from passing through the insulated cabinet walls of the fully enclosed cabinet;

a heat expulsion unit disposed within a heat expulsion section of the fully enclosed cabinet, the heat expulsion unit including;

a warm air exhaust opening that receives heated air from one of the warm exhaust outlet ducts,

a return opening containing a return damper disposed therein,

the return damper controlled by a control system;

an exhaust opening that emits heat from the heated air as vented air from the heat expulsion unit into the external environment; and

an exhaust fan disposed in the exhaust opening that assists in moving the vented air;

a filter chamber disposed within the fully enclosed cabinet, the filter chamber including;

an air intake section that is isolated from the heat expulsion section except via the return opening coupled to a heat exchange unit;

an outside air inlet that allows intake of the outside air into the air intake section;

an outside air inlet damper disposed within the outside air inlet and being electronically controlled; and

an air filter,

the filter chamber being configurable to receive the return air based upon a return damper position, the outside air based upon an outside air damper position, as well as a mixture of the return air and the outside air based upon the return air damper position and the outside air damper position, the filter chamber providing filtered air;

a condenser unit coupled to the filter chamber and including;

an air cooling area disposed within the fully enclosed cabinet over which the filtered air passes to create the cooled air; and

an indirect cooling coil disposed within air cooling area and filled with cooled water over which the filtered air passes, the cooled water being circulated through an evaporation unit disposed external of the fully enclosed cabinet in the external environment;

a fan disposed within the air cooling area operable push the filtered air through the air cooling area and toward the cool air inlet duct;

a cool air inlet opening that emits the cooled air into one of the cool air inlet ducts; and

an outlet damper disposed within the cool air inlet opening operable to control an amount of the cooled air delivered from the air cooling area to the one cool air inlet duct.

2. The facility according to claim 1 wherein the condenser unit further includes

an evaporator bypass disposed within air cooling area allowing all or some of the filtered air to bypass the indirect cooling coil, and a bypass damper associated therewith.

3. The facility according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchange unit is disposed above the filter chamber and the air cooling area of the condenser unit.

4. The facility according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of heated air openings are disposed above each of the corresponding plurality of return air openings.

5. The facility according to claim 4, wherein the building further includes:

a roof disposed above the plurality of heated air openings; and

a ceiling disposed within the building that provides a barrier to prevent heated air from passing therebelow, the ceiling including a ceiling edge that connects to the exterior load wall between each of the plurality of heated air openings and the corresponding plurality of return air openings, thereby forming a warm air escape gap above the ceiling and below the roof, the ceiling further including a plurality of opening therein corresponding to warm exhaust channels through which the heated air passes from below the ceiling.

6. The facility according to claim 5 wherein the plurality of cool air ducts connect together within the building, below the ceiling.

7. The facility according to claim 6 further including:

another exterior load wall opposite the exterior load wall;

another plurality of warm exhaust outlets ducts and another corresponding plurality of cool air inlet ducts are included in the another exterior load wall, the another plurality of warm exhaust outlets ducts and the another plurality of cool air inlet ducts, respectively; and

another plurality of air conditioning apparatus are disposed in the external environment, external to the building, and parallel to one another along the another exterior load wall, each of the another plurality of air conditioning apparatus being supported by another ground level support structure, and each of the another plurality of air conditioning apparatus being formed as each of the air conditioning apparatus.

8. The facility according to claim 7, wherein the ceiling further includes another ceiling edge that connects to the another exterior load wall between each of the another plurality of heated air openings and the corresponding plurality of return air openings, thereby forming a warm air escape gap above the ceiling.

9. The facility according to claim 1 wherein the heat exchange unit is contained within a first housing, the filter chamber and the air cooling area of the condenser unit are contained within a second housing and the return opening is disposed between the first housing and the second housing, and wherein the first housing and the second housing together comprise the fully enclosed cabinet.

10. The facility according to claim 9 wherein the first housing is attachable to and detachable from the second housing using bolts and wherein the insulated cabinet walls, cabinet floor and cabinet ceiling include welded steel to prevent air leakage.

11. The facility according to claim 1 wherein the first housing is disposed above the second housing.

12. The facility according to claim 11, wherein the exhaust fan within the heat exchange unit is disposed on a sidewall thereof, and in a location directly above the return opening, the return opening being positioned in a floor of the first housing and a ceiling of the second housing.

13. The facility according to claim 1 further including a control system, the control system operable to automatically control each of the exhaust fan, the return damper, the outside air damper, the condenser, the fan and the outlet damper.

14. The facility according to claim 13 wherein the outside air damper further includes a spring-loaded mechanical closing lever, the spring-loaded mechanical closing lever causing automatic closure of the outside air damper upon a disruption in electrical power.

15. The facility according to claim 14 further including a first sealable entry door from the external environment to the air entry area of the filter chamber and a second sealable entry door from the external environment to the air cooling area of the condenser unit, each of the first and second sealable doors being sized to permit adult human access therethrough.

16. The facility according to claim 15 wherein the air filter includes a filter wall comprised of a plurality of filters.

17. The facility according to claim 16 wherein the fan is a fan wall comprised of a plurality of fans, the fan wall being placed between the filter wall and the air cooling area.