News
Emerson Network Power Introduces SmartAisle™ Solution to Improve Effectiveness of Data Center Cooling
March 2011 by Marc Jacob
Emerson Network Power introduced the SmartAisle cooling management
solution that utilizes cold aisle containment to increase cooling efficiency and rack
capacity. The SmartAisle solution is available to customers worldwide.
Leveraging the hot aisle/cold aisle rack configuration, the flexible SmartAisle solution
contains the cold aisle to prevent hot and cold air from mixing, while adding a layer of
intelligent management through the Liebert iCOM™ control system. The combination of
cold aisle containment and precise aisle-level control of temperature, humidity and
airflow allows the SmartAisle solution to deliver greater than 30 percent energy savings
and a 25 percent cooling capacity increase without compromising availability.
Knurr® cabinets from Emerson Network Power are utilized within the cold-aisle
containment structure. The SmartAisle solution can also be adapted to existing IT racks.
A clear plexiglass ceiling system serves as a roof to contain cold air. Swinging or sliding
doors contain the areas at the ends of the aisle. Horizontal and vertical rack blanking
panels are used to optimize the cabinet airflow. An alternative curtain system is available
for ceiling containment as an alternative to the plexiglass ceiling panels.
The addition of the Liebert iCOM control system provides monitoring, control and
communications vital to the SmartAisle solution’s significant performance improvement
over standard containment structures. Remote sensors in both the hot and cold aisles
allow Liebert iCOM to ensure proper temperature, humidity and airflow to the inlet of the
servers. The control system monitors conditions in the cold aisle to independently control
both the variable capacity compressor (or chilled-water cooling capacity) and the fan
speed of the cooling units and allows the units to work in teamwork mode for energyefficient
load sharing operation.
The SmartAisle solution can be used on raised or non-raised floors, and is compatible
with variable capacity Liebert HPM Digital Scroll and Liebert HPM cooling units
containing Liebert iCOM controls, as well as row-based Liebert CRV and Liebert XD
systems with Liebert iCOM controls. The system is capable of cooling up to 30kW per
rack, depending on whether internal or external cooling is used with the cold aisle
containment. Existing IT racks can be retrofitted with a SmartAisle containment system.
