Deliverable 4.3 is a catalogue of advanced technical concepts for the supply of power and cooling energy in Data Centres in order to achieve Net Zero Energy use.

Data Centres have an exceptionally high energy density, which highlights the importance of energy efficiency measures supported by the use of renewable energy sources. This document takes a holistic approach integrating many technical solutions, including the management of IT load, efficient electrical supply to IT systems, Low-Ex air conditioning, solar cooling, interaction with district heating and cooling networks, re-use of heat, free cooling, head and cold storage, electrical storage, and integration in smart grids.

In the first part of this document, energy efficiency strategies are presented which lead to the reduction of electric and cooling loads and optimise the distribution of power and cooling through the infrastructure. These solutions cover, for example, scheduling of IT workloads, improvements related to uninterruptable power supply (UPS) systems and efficient airflow management.

In the second part, 18 advanced concepts for power and cooling supply to Data Centres are presented, which have been developed based on four different scenarios characterised by Data Centre sizes between 20 kW (server room) and 2 MW (large Data Centre). The concepts proposed for the scenarios represent different combinations of technologies for power and cooling generation, re-cooling, heat re-use, power and thermal energy storage and distribution. The use of renewable heat sources (biomass and solar thermal) for cooling generation, or combined heat and power generation (co-generation), renewable power generation (wind, photovoltaic, organic Rankine cycle, co-generation) and renewable cooling (ambient air, seawater, groundwater) have been integrated into the advanced concepts. The chosen technologies are intended to be feasible for implementation at present or in the near future.

This deliverable builds on public deliverables D4.1 Report of different possibilities for renewable energy supply in Data Centres, D4.2 Report of energy requirements for IT equipment, D3.1 Metrics for Net Zero Energy Data Centres, and D7.1 Data Centres: Market archetypes and case studies.

The final version of the present document will be published as D4.5 Catalogue of advanced technical concepts for Net Zero Energy Data Centres. Final version in 2015 and will cover strategies for optimal operation and control related to electric and thermal energy storage systems and will integrate further advanced results from the project.

Public Deliverable with the acknowledgement of the EC services. Content pending validation.