Minkels Launches New Varicondition H2O Row-based Cooling Systems for Data Centers

Data center manufacturer Minkels B.V., part of the public company Legrand, has introduced two new water-based cooling systems for data centers. They are the Minkels Varicondition H2O-316 and the Minkels Varicondition H2O-650. These units can be placed between (row-based) data center racks. The Varicondition H2O-316 and Varicondition H2O-650 water-based cooling units complement Minkels’ existing Varicondition portfolio of data center cooling solutions, which include the Next Generation Cold Corridors that can deliver directed, cool airflow with little power consumption.

Varicondition H2O-316 is designed to provide a cooling solution for companies with decentralized server rooms. Varicondition H2O-650 is suited for cooling high-density applications in commercial data centers. The Minkels R&D department has added features to these systems based on customer input and tailored to meet specific customer needs. The Varicondition H2O-316 will be available at the end of Q3 2013. The Varicondition H2O-650 will be ready for delivery by the end of Q4 2013. Minkels perceives that the market is changing and the introduction of these new data center cooling systems coincides with the increasing demand for row-based water cooling, which is accomplished by placing water-based cooling units between the racks in the data center.

“The need for row-based water cooling has increased in recent times,” says Vincent Liebe, Senior Product Manager with Minkels and a member of the R&D-team. “This has to do with the increased density in data centers. The energy density per rack has increased significantly this past year, both in server rooms at SMEs and at commercial data centers.”

This past year, the study conducted by IMS Research, titled “The World Market for Data Center Cooling - 2012 Edition” already shows that the global market revenues from rack cooling equipment will increase significantly between 2011 and 2016, with an annual growth rate of 12 percent. This annual growth rate will be more than 20 percent in certain countries. IMS Research states in its report that new servers with high density applications cause ‘hot spots’ in the data center, which have to be cooled economically. Rack cooling would be the most appropriate solution.

“Water-based cooling is an ideal solution for cooling high density applications,” says Liebe. “The row-based character of such a solution provides the capability to cool very specific areas, which makes it very efficient. In this way, data centers can have a phased approach to investing in cooling systems.”

The Minkels Varicondition H2O-650 system adapts to the cooling needs of commercial data centers that are set out in the study done by IMS Research. Liebe: “Many commercial data centers use standard raised floors and a common room cooling system. A specific customer may have 10 racks with an individual cooling requirement that is three times higher than the rest of the room. In such a case, the data center can implement the Varcondition H20-650 to create a specific H2O cooling cluster to meet the needs of the increased energy density in the racks. Commercial data centers often already have chilled water CRAC units, making it an interesting solution from an investment standpoint as well.”

The Minkels Varicondition H2O-316 system adapts to the need of SME companies for cost-effective cooling concepts with a low CAPEX. The new type of cooling system is an economical alternative to the existing Minkels water-based cooling system, the Varicondition H2O-324, a system with 24 kW of cooling capacity. The Varicondition H2O-324 system provides high-quality and energy-efficient technology with an initially higher CAPEX and ROI via a favorable OPEX.

Liebe: “Small to medium sized companies have different reasons for choosing row-based water cooling than data centers do. Generally, there are often limitations in office buildings and it can be difficult to install raised floors. In such a case, a company can choose to install a row-based cooling unit between the racks, for example the Minkels Varicondition-DX, a cooling unit based on air and refrigerant. However, the Varicondition H2O-316 water-based variant is also available now.”

Unlike the existing Minkels water cooling system (VariconditionH2O-324) is delivered on wheels, fully equipped and ready to use, which fulfills the need of SMEs for integrated, turnkey solutions that are easy to set up. Liebe: “If the room already has a water infrastructure, this solution is very interesting for SME companies from an investment and installation standpoint.”