As power densities increase, a new design factor is coming to the fore - precision air conditioning solutions. Air handling units (AHU) incorporate all the air conditioning equipment of a data center in one outdoor container, therefore creating more space for productive IT systems inside the actual server area. STULZ introduced its first air handling system back in 2015. With the CyberHandler 2, the specialist for reliable air conditioning solutions is now launching a comprehensively redesigned successor.
The CyberHandler 2 series includes eleven output ratings from 30 to 520 kW. It combines free cooling, adiabatic cooling and mechanical chilling in one sealed outdoor container. The choice of chilling methods includes chilled water coils, scroll compressors or a redundant DX system with external condenser. If high availability is required, a fully weather-independent air conditioning system with a high level of redundancy can be designed, and can work in mixed mode for great energy efficiency.
One of the key new features of this series is the optimized dual brazed plate heat exchanger. This improves the mean efficiency of the overall system, enabling a larger distance between flaps which reduces air-side pressure drops, and slashes the average energy consumption of the fan units. Another new feature is the design of the brazed plate heat exchanger module and the floor pan of the filtering section. In the new series, both these areas are made entirely of stainless steel.
Like its predecessor, the CyberHandler 2 saves energy through free cooling. As the air conduction is indirect, no contaminated outside air gets into the data center, and filter systems also have less to deal with. When combined with an adiabatic module, the runtimes of high-consumption mechanical chilling can be cut to a minimum. Up to 70% energy savings can be achieved compared with pure DX cooling. The overall more simple installation of electrical distribution boards and pipework also brings cost advantages. Simply by reducing the electrical infrastructure, possible CAPEX savings of 6 to 8% can be achieved, depending on project conditions, compared with air conditioning solutions with traditional closed-circuit air conditioning technology.
