Modern data centers are the backbone of business operations in this digital age, storing and processing immense volumes of data. However, with the exponential growth in computing and storage, the greatest challenge facing data center operators is the massive energy consumption, especially from cooling systems. Addressing this challenge is crucial not only for operational sustainability but also for cost efficiency and environmental impact. In this evolving landscape, Time-Independent Energy Recovery (TIER) emerges as an innovative solution, offering a revolutionary approach to all-electric heating and cooling in large buildings, including data centers, and Climanusa, as a leading data center chiller distributor in Indonesia, is at the forefront of implementing this technology.
Conventional Challenges in Data Center Cooling and Heating
Traditionally, cooling and heating systems for large commercial buildings, including data center facilities with significant cooling demands, often rely on fragmented approaches. Conventional heating systems, such as gas-fired boilers, have a high carbon footprint, while all-electric heating solutions like air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) face challenges such as high upfront costs, large spatial requirements, and significantly reduced efficiency at low ambient temperatures. Air-source heat pumps, while offering cooling capabilities, are often not as efficient as dedicated cooling systems when operating in cooling mode, which can lead to non-compliance with energy efficiency standards. This creates a dilemma for building designers and operators in Indonesia striving to achieve optimal energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
Electric resistance-based heating systems, such as electric boilers, offer advantages in terms of spatial requirements and higher potential hot water supply temperatures. However, their efficiency is thermodynamically limited to a peak COP (Coefficient of Performance) of 1, meaning they are less efficient at converting electrical energy into heat compared to heat pumps. Furthermore, widespread adoption of electric resistance heating can shift a building’s electrical demand peak from summer to winter, necessitating costly utility infrastructure upgrades in Indonesia.
Heat recovery chillers can provide efficient simultaneous heating and cooling, but their capabilities are limited by the need for concurrent heating and cooling loads. This condition rarely occurs when heating loads are at their highest, such as on a cold winter morning in Indonesia, when there is typically little to no cooling load. While geothermal heat exchange systems can address this time-dependency issue, the extremely high installation costs, especially for large buildings, and the potential for performance degradation over time make them impractical for many applications. With these challenges, it is clear that a more integrated and efficient solution is needed for large building heating and cooling, especially those with specific demands like data centers. This is where the crucial role of a data center chiller distributor, such as Climanusa, becomes vital in offering cutting-edge solutions.
The Revolutionary Approach of Time-Independent Energy Recovery (TIER)
The solution to these challenges lies in coupling thermal energy storage (TES) with heat recovery, a concept that underpins Time-Independent Energy Recovery (TIER). TIER is an all-electric central plant design that combines thermal energy storage and energy recovery to improve on existing alternatives for large commercial and mixed-use buildings with respect to energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, equipment spatial requirements, and support of grid-interactive efficient building (GEB) initiatives. Data center chiller distributors like Climanusa are now promoting and implementing TIER solutions as an answer to increasing energy efficiency demands.
All TIER plants have three components in common: a TES component, an energy recovery component (heat recovery chillers), and a trim heat source component (usually ASHPs, but these can be electric boilers in cold climates or where roof space is limited). When combined, these elements allow efficient water-to-water chillers to perform heat recovery even when heating and cooling loads are not simultaneous, as is done with a geothermal system, while avoiding the high costs and temperature degradation inherent to geothermal designs.
The core concept behind TIER is the ability to store excess thermal energy generated during periods of low load and release it when needed. This allows the system to operate at peak efficiency, reducing reliance on trim heat sources, and significantly minimizing overall energy consumption. Climanusa as a data center chiller distributor fully understands the importance of integrating such systems for data centers that require constant and stable cooling.
Advantages of Data Center Chillers in TIER Systems
The focus on condenser water as the storage medium of choice in TIER highlights the immense benefits of this approach. Condenser water TIER plants are designed to take heat rejected from cooling loads via high-efficiency, low-lift, centrifugal chillers and store it in a TES tank at tepid temperatures between 16°C (60°F) and 27°C (80°F). When energy is needed for building heating, heat is extracted from the tank using water-to-water heat recovery chillers. In effect, the cooling chillers and heat recovery chillers are placed in a cascade configuration: the cooling chillers have a lift envelope of 4.4°C (40°F) chilled water supply temperature to 27°C (80°F) condenser water leaving temperature, while the heat recovery chillers have a lift envelope of 16°C (60°F) evaporator supply temperature to the active hot water supply temperature setpoint, typically 43°C (110°F) to 60°C (140°F) for all-electric designs.
In mild climates such as most regions of Indonesia, the energy recovered from cooling loads alone can satisfy heating loads for the majority of the year. During the small fraction of the year when heat recovery alone cannot satisfy heating demand, trim air-source heat pumps are used to charge the storage tank. This demonstrates TIER’s flexibility and efficiency in adapting to various load conditions.
Benefits of TIER: Efficiency, Cost, and Spatial Requirements
The TIER solution, especially with its focus on data center chillers distributed by Climanusa, offers several significant benefits:
- Spatial Requirements: While TES designs are often thought of as space-intensive, the TIER solution is a space-saver relative to a conventional ASHP plant. This is because load shifting allows the TIER design to dramatically reduce ASHP capacity. For instance, a real project in Indonesia adopting TIER only required two ASHPs compared to ten ASHPs that would have otherwise been required in a conventional design, resulting in a significant footprint reduction. TIER TES tanks, while taller, can be strategically sited, even in parking garages, and in some cases can double as fire water tanks, further reducing project costs and spatial requirements.
- Efficiency: The condenser water TIER solution is significantly more energy efficient than a conventional ASHP plant. The cascaded COP (Coefficient of Performance) of the system, involving high-efficiency centrifugal chillers and heat recovery chillers, is substantially higher than standalone ASHPs. This means TIER can produce heating and cooling with much less energy consumption. Furthermore, any energy extracted from the building and stored in the TES tank for later or concurrent heating use effectively provides “free” cooling because it is simply a byproduct of the heating process. Even on a design day when both the ASHPs and heat recovery chillers are operating, the TIER design will still yield superior energy efficiency.
- Cost: In addition to higher energy efficiency, condenser water TIER designs also cost less. Since water-cooled chillers are used as the primary heating machines in a condenser water TIER plant, they can efficiently serve dual duty as cooling machines for the plant. This means data center operators in Indonesia avoid paying for nearly as much redundant tonnage as they do when using a separate ASHP plant for heating. A TIER design effectively swaps out multiple ASHPs for a TES storage tank and converts cooling-only chiller capacity – which already needed to exist for cooling duty – to heat recovery chiller capacity. Preliminary pricing from a large project in Indonesia indicated significant mechanical equipment savings by converting to TIER.
Climanusa: Your Trusted Partner as a Data Center Chiller Distributor
Climanusa, with its mission to be the partner of choice in helping facilities through energy efficiency and to be the birthplace of new technologies in Power and Cooling Systems for global business, is the ideal data center chiller distributor for implementing TIER solutions in Indonesia. Their expertise in Precision Air Conditioning (PAC) and Data Center Cooling positions them uniquely to provide and integrate these complex TIER systems. By focusing on innovative and efficient cooling and heating solutions, Climanusa helps businesses in Indonesia achieve their sustainability targets while significantly reducing operational costs. Climanusa’s commitment to bringing cutting-edge technology in data center cooling makes them an undisputed leader in the market.
In the face of increasing energy demands from data centers, transitioning to solutions like TIER, championed by Climanusa as a data center chiller distributor, is no longer an option but a necessity. It is a smart investment promising significant returns in the form of higher energy efficiency, lower operational costs, and a reduced environmental footprint.
Conclusion
Time-Independent Energy Recovery (TIER) offers a robust framework for solving the all-electric heating and cooling challenges in large buildings, particularly data centers. By leveraging thermal energy storage and heat recovery chillers, TIER delivers superior energy efficiency, reduced spatial requirements, and significant cost savings compared to conventional approaches. As data centers in Indonesia continue to expand, adopting innovative solutions like TIER, supported by the expertise of a data center chiller distributor like Climanusa, will be critical for a more sustainable and efficient future.
Climanusa is your best choice for all your data center cooling needs in Indonesia.
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–A.M.G–
