One future-proof and cost-effective option is to constantly separate the cold air zone from the warm air zone. This “Cold Aisle Containment” ensures that the cold air flowing though the raised floor is channelled through the cabinets. Special feature: as a result all installed servers are provided with consistant cold air over the entire height of the cabinet.


This containment means that the usual heat mixing on the data center ceiling no longer has any effect on the cold aisle, and hot air short cuts are no longer possible. This significantly improves cooling efficiency, resulting in the reduction of cold air required. This in turn then means that energy costs also fall considerably!

• Raised floor sealing: Cable entries in the cabinets can be effectively sealed with Koldlok® brush systems; perforated panels are only used in the cold zone
• Cabinets sealing with trims and 19” blanking panels
• Customised cold aisle containment using standard components – compatible with all manufacturer cabinets.

Cold aisle containment produces a consistent temperature over the entire height of the cold aisle. This significantly reduces the air speed intake, and the air temperature intake can be increased (20 - 25°C).This, of course, has advantages for both the operator and the environment (lower energy costs for driving fans in the CRAC equipment, suitable air temperature intake for servers, more pleasant working conditions).

The higher intake air temperature also allows the inflow water temperature to be increased, which results in further energy savings. Plus, higher inflow temperatures provide more time for cooling through free cooling.

• Upgrade (with Knürr and all other racks)
• New installations (package with racks and other products)

The CoolFlex® Cold Aisle Containment Package features various products and services:

• Knürr CoolFlex®
• Products for sealing the raised floor and rack
• On-site measurements
• Solution planning
• Design and construction planning
• On-site installation
• Thermal assessment

Energy-saving
Knürr CoolFlex® Cold Aisle Containment saves “tonnes” of energy costs, and therefore makes a massive contribution to environmental protection. In conventional data centers (DCs), high volumes of cold air, which must be below 18°C in places, are blown from the raised floor into the cold aisle. The reason for this is that the cold and warm air in the DC frequently mix (especially when a DC reaches its full capacity). Many DC operators therefore increase the volume flow and reduce the intake air temperature, until the desired temperature is achieved in the cold aisle. This consumes huge amounts of energy. The result: at the bottom of the cold aisle there is a temperature of 16 - 20°C; at the top there is a temperature of 22 - 30°C. At a DC’s full capacity temperatures above 30°C can often be generated in the cold aisle with the recirculation of the warma ir out of the warm aisle and into the cold aisle.

Air circulation equipment
When Computer Room Air Conditioning units (CRAC) are operated at full load, their efficiency decreases! At a speed of 50% or less, CRAC units can be operated several timesmore energy-efficiently. To date data centers have usually been equipped with n+1 cooling units. However as most CRAC units are bought early in the life of a DC it often makes sense to buy 2n. CRAC units can then be operated at a lower speed, more efficiently. The procurement costs are often amortised quickly, due to the significantly reduced energy costs. Changing the number of CRAC units from n+1 to 2n not only produces much lower energy costs – it also provides improved redundancy, and therefore reliability for the entire data center. Emerson Network Power offers a well-tuned and tested total package: Knürr with its server rack platforms and CoolFlex® Cold Aisle Containment; Liebert with regulated air circulation equipment.

• Increased cooling capacity to maximise the use of existing data centers
• Life extension of the conventional data center by several years
• Cost-effective solution
• Higher Delta T and therefore more cooling power with thermal management system airflow remaining constant
• Predictable cooling capacity for each cold aisle; can be adjusted by modifying or replacing perforated floor plinths
• Scalability with the aid of additional cooling (e.g. water cooling or cooling with cooling agent)
• Double doors and sliding doors with automatic door closers

• Solution consulting, calculation, simulation
• Easily upgradeable (regardless of existing server cabinet run)
• Integration into new building (especially with regard to the cooling requirements of very varied data centers)
• Temperature and volume flow measurement, and on-site measurements
• Installation

are transparent in the standard option, so that the room's lighting is used. Halogen-free Plexiglas is used to keep the thermal load as low as possible. With more detailed fire prevention regulations, laminated safety glass can be used as required by the project.
The top covers are easy to remove for servicing.

Blanking elements close off the areas between racks with different heights.

are transparent in the standard option, so that the room's lighting is used. Halogen-free Plexiglas is used to keep the thermal load as low as possible. With more detailed fire prevention regulations, laminated safety glass can be used as required by the project.
The top covers are easy to remove for servicing.

Blanking elements close off the areas between racks with different heights.

Double doors or sliding doors can be chosen for the front, and close with automatic door closers. In the event of an emergency, the cold aisle can be quickly exited be simply pushing the doors open. The doors can be fitted with glass or Plexiglas windows.

Knürr CoolFlex® does not cause any disadvantages for most of the early fire detection systems on themarket. On the contrary! In conventional DCs the mixing of cold and warmair can cause delays in alarmsystems. With regard to fire extinguishing, various systemsmust be considered when installing the Knürr CoolFlex®.