Containment is the single fastest way to cut data center energy costs.
Cooling systems represent about 40% of total data center energy consumption. That’s an enormous line item, and a lot of it is wasted on bypass air, recirculation air, and the chaotic mixing of cold supply and hot exhaust that happens in an uncontained environment. Some data centers end up supplying twice the airflow actually needed just to compensate for the inefficiency.
Containment fixes that. A solid containment deployment can reduce fan energy by up to 25%, deliver 20% savings at the chilled water plant, and shave roughly 30% off the annual utility bill without additional capital expenditure. ROI typically lands somewhere between six and eighteen months.
Whether you’re managing a legacy facility or designing something new, the questions are the same: which type of containment is right for my environment? How much of a difference does full containment make over partial? This white paper answers all of it.
What’s Covered Inside
Data Center Terminology and Cooling Methods
A grounded introduction to the vocabulary and cooling methods that come up constantly in data center conversations: CRACs, CRAHs, PUE, white space, gray space, raised floors, slab floors, free cooling, and more.
Bypass Air, Recirculation Air, and Once-Through Cooling
Why uncontained airflow is expensive, what recirculation does to IT equipment reliability, and what the goal of data center cooling looks like when it’s working the way it should.
Containment Basics and PUE
How containment separates cold supply from hot exhaust, what that separation does to your PUE, and why a data center without containment commonly runs a PUE of 2.0 or worse.
CAC vs. HAC: Choosing the Right Approach
Five real facility assessments with recommended containment solutions. The honest answer is that thermodynamically, both types of containment produce similar results. What drives the choice is your facility’s layout, ceiling configuration, and constraints.
Full vs. Partial Containment
End-of-aisle doors help, but they don’t solve the problem. We explain what full containment accomplishes that partial containment simply can’t.
CURRENT INDUSTRY QUESTIONS
This white paper will answer
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What’s the difference between cold aisle containment and hot aisle containment? -
How do bypass air and recirculation air hurt efficiency, and how does containment solve them? -
When should you use CAC versus HAC in an existing facility? -
How much does partial containment help compared to full containment? -
What kind of energy savings and PUE improvements can containment realistically deliver?