According to cooling experts, support infrastructure, of which precision cooling is a major component, consumes between 25 to 35 percent of the energy in telecom infrastructure. Meanwhile, the remaining percentage is being utilized by the radio equipment and the power infrastructure 

As the industry begins to understand how energy is being consumed within the facility, a growing number of telecom operators are beginning to realize the significant energy-reduction opportunities focused cooling may provide.

The path to the optimal solution however is determined by key metrics around the businesses’ attitude for risk and appetite for investment. Emerson’s approach helps customers along that path and at the same time achieves the most possible energy efficiency levels.

Know the 3 R’s of Precision Cooling
Despite the claims for different vendors promoting their own, specialized solutions, there is no silver bullet when it comes to precision cooling for every application. There is only the most appropriate cooling solution for your infrastructure, which may or may not be appropriate for another.

To find out which approach suits your infrastructure, we must consider the three R’s of precision cooling approach: Room, row and rack. Having a good understanding of each design can help determine which cooling approach and solution can best meet your business goals and infrastructure requirements.

Different room and business requirements drive customer choice towards either or a combination of these approaches to cooling

Room Cooling
While densities are climbing steadily, low density facilities remain the norm. Traditional room cooling uses precision computer room air conditioners (CRAC) and is the most appropriate solution for these low density environments. The low complexity, ease of deployment and precision humidity and filtration control of these systems has seen hundreds of thousands of units deployed in critical facilities across Asia, with more added every day. Combined with a raised floor, CRACs deliver the best value for money in low density applications and represents significant increased efficiency over building or comfort cooling.

While room cooling meets the specific needs of a broad market, there are times when an alternative approach is required by your business and infrastructure.

Row Cooling
If energy efficiency is your top concern, row cooling will come in to consideration. Row cooling can improve efficiency over the standard room approach by more than 30 percent. It also supports high density applications by the utilization of cold aisle containment. Row cooling with SmartAisle™ can further improve efficiency and provide uniform and predictable temperature and humidity control to equipment with or without raised floor.

Rack Cooling
One of the proven best-practice approaches to dealing high density heat issues is by bringing cooling technologies closer to the source of heat. For some businesses, this results in cooling solutions that are applied directly at the rack level.  Specialized precision cooling solutions for racks can support ultra-high-density applications, up to and above 30kW per rack. This dedicated cooling approach specifically cools a rack by providing the best direct air flow intake of the critical equipment.

Rack cooling comes in a variety of formats ranging from zero-footprint through to minimal in-row options.