Application investigation on a pumped loop heat pipe heat exchanger unit for a small data center.

The pumped loop heat pipe heat exchanger unit for cooling consumes low power and has a high coefficient of performance (EER). For optimization applications at small data centers, this paper investigated the operating performance of the pumped loop heat pipe heat exchanger unit used in a small data center. The EER under different outdoor temperatures was analyzed, and the fitted operating characteristic curve showed that EER varied with outdoor temperature. An energy saving analysis was done with the fitting curve, and the total energy consumption was calculated at each temperature interval in Beijing. The results show that in transitional and winter season, when the outdoor temperature is below 15°C, the pumped loop heat pipe heat exchanger unit can be turned on to bear part or total thermal load and performs well in energy saving. Compared to the air conditioning and refrigeration system for cooling, the energy saving can reach at least 35.76%.