Every data center is paying an efficiency tax.
Data centers without containment routinely run a PUE of 2.0. That means for every kilowatt powering your IT equipment, you’re burning another kilowatt just trying to pull the heat back out.
Containment breaks that cycle. By separating cold supply from hot exhaust, it lets you raise supply temperatures, reduce airflow, lower fan speeds, and run free cooling more often. The U.S. EPA puts the impact at up to 25% in fan energy reduction and 20% savings at the chilled water plant, with total utility bill savings around 30% without adding capital expenditure. ROI on most containment projects lands between six and eighteen months.
This white paper shows you the math, step by step, using CFD modeling across a real facility example.
What’s Covered Inside
Bypass Air, Recirculation Air, and Once-Through Cooling
Where efficiency losses actually come from, what they look like in CFD thermal models, and why uncontained data centers so frequently end up supplying twice the airflow they need.
PUE and Server Inlet Temperature
How containment-driven temperature increases translate directly into energy savings, with the U.S. General Services Administration estimating 4% to 5% in cost reduction for every 1°F gained at the server inlet.
CAC vs. HAC: Real Facility Modeling
Side-by-side CFD results for a 5,000 sq. ft. data center with 480 kW of IT load, modeled first without containment, then with cold aisle containment, then with hot aisle containment.
Full vs. Partial Containment
End-of-aisle doors reduce recirculation at the ends of aisles. Full containment eliminates it entirely. This section makes the case for going all the way, and explains what to do when ceiling obstructions make it difficult.
Estimated Savings With Containment
A worked example using a real facility showing how a 10°F increase in supply temperature, combined with reducing CRAC fan speeds from 100% to 80%, produced $160,203 in annual savings and drove PUE from 2.0 down to 1.6.
CURRENT INDUSTRY QUESTIONS
This white paper will answer
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How does containment reduce PUE, and by how much? -
What does bypass air and recirculation air cost a facility that ignores them? -
How do cold aisle and hot aisle containment compare on real efficiency outcomes? -
What’s the difference between full and partial containment in practice? -
How do you estimate annual savings before a containment project even begins?