The ECHO IT cooling system was launched by Airedale International and JCA with significant interest from contractors, consultants and end users. The event was attended by over 50 key decision makers from the industry and feedback from the event was extremely positive with many attendees expressing great opportunities to apply.

By varying the air volume, the ECHO system operates with air volumes 50% less than traditional cooling systems and with elevated water temperatures that allow up to 95%* free-cooling (London, UK). The energy reduction of the ECHO system is approximately 67% in comparison to a conventional downflow system and approximately 46% in comparison with a conventional free-cooling system.

At the hub of the ECHO system is the ACE (Active Cabinet Exhaust) unit which sits on top of the server cabinet, drawing precisely the right amount of hot discharge air from the servers and rejecting it away into the ceiling void. The air is ducted directly to an Airedale ECHO CRAC unit which in turn is linked to one or more Airedale ECHO free-cooling chillers. Control is led from rack level by the Airedale ECHO Monitoring & Control System (EMCS), intelligently managing variable rack load densities up to a maximum of 20kW per rack.

There are no chilled water or refrigerant connections at the rack or in the IT space. The ACE is fitted with the exclusive Cabinet Differential Pressure Control system; hot swappable fan tray and control panel; redundant fans (N+1) and quick change controls and fan drawers. Dual power supply is an option in the CRAC unit; dual circuit configuration in the free-cooling chiller and dual temperature sensors in the air stream of the ACE unit.

* PUE 1.2 example application – details can be viewed by touch screen

IT Cooling Benefits:

• Outstanding energy efficiency, reducing operating costs and carbon impact
• Variable rack load densities to a maximum of 20kW per rack
• No chilled water/refrigerant connections at the rack or in the IT space
• The Airedale ECHO CRAC unit does not overcool as airflow demand is communicated via the ACE and the rack demand
• Control is led from rack level, rescheduling the Airedale ECHO CRAC and free-cooling chiller to optimise performance
• The use of thermal inertia in the room in the event of ACE failure means no rapid overheat
• Higher density cabinets can be designated as the technical space is populated, rather than at day one
• The entire technical space is at the server inlet temperature, thus avoiding hot spots and providing a buffer of cool air in the event of failure
• With no hot/cold aisle configuration, the technical space available for IT equipment is increased