Decryption: The mysterious "free cooling" device at Microsoft Dublin Data Center

Microsoft is building a data center in Dublin, Ireland, to provide its online services to Europe. There, Microsoft uses a unique "free cooling" technology that uses less energy than its peers in the rest of the world, with Microsoft's latest data center power Efficiency (PUE) at 1.17.

Ireland is the ideal place for free cooling of the data center, and Microsoft has a huge data center in Dublin, the Energy Center for Microsoft's online services for Europe. Dublin's average annual temperature is between 23 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit (5-27 degrees Celsius), which will allow Microsoft to use fresh air to cool the servers throughout the year under normal operating conditions.

"Free Cooling"-also known as Air Economics-allows facility owners to drastically reduce the energy used for cooling. Coolers that are widely used in data center cooling systems use cooled water for cooling, but require significant power support. Using air for cooling would make Microsoft's data center less energy-efficient than its peers in other parts of the world, with Microsoft's latest data center power Efficiency (PUE) at 1.17.

To make the most of the cool climate, the Microsoft Data Center designed a huge air treatment device. The cool air outside enters the facility through an air inlet on the roof, and then enters the data center through a piping system. The air passes through the server and is discharged through the hot channel.

Here are some of the facilities at the Microsoft Dublin Data Center:

Microsoft's Dublin Data Center was put into operation in 2009, covering more than 303,000 square feet. The second phase of the project was launched in 2012 with a total area of 550,000 square feet.

The air treatment device on the roof of the first phase of the Microsoft Dublin Data Center project is aerial view.

These rooftop air handling units drive the cooling system for the Microsoft Dublin Data Center. The equipment absorbs external air and pushes air into the air-conditioning system used in the data center.

These vents can control the amount of fresh air entering the Microsoft Data Center. To enter the data center, the air will first pass through the right filter to ensure that the particles in the air do not enter the server.

In this new data hall, we can see that the Hot Channel containment system components are ready for the server racks placed in the sealed area.

The image above is the interior of the hot channel, and hot air is emitted through the top of the data hall. If it is winter, it will mix fresh air to regulate the temperature in the server hall.

Design of the air saving system in the Microsoft Dublin Data Center.

(Responsible editor: Fumingli)