Cool dream team with a small footprint

Cleverly combined: Here, robust containers meet smart, energy-efficient outdoor climate control. The duo together achieves a solid one-third reduction in energy consumption. (Source: Rittal GmbH & Co. KG)

Through hybrid technology with passive components, the Blue e+ outdoor cooling units not only reduce CO₂ emissions but also free up more space for IT in the container due to their space-saving integration on the exterior walls. (Source: Rittal GmbH & Co. KG)

The digital transformation challenges the data center industry. Growing data volumes require data center operators to continuously divert increasing amounts of heat from servers in increasingly confined spaces or create new space for expansions. And do so as efficiently, sustainably, and quickly as possible. Rittal responds with a newly conceived solution for IT containers that seamlessly integrates an efficient outdoor cooling solution from the Blue e+ series. With a substantial one-third reduction in energy consumption, this duo manages the balancing act between (cost) efficiency and sustainability. A cool dream team that provides IT managers with a clever all-in-one solution.

Everyone brings their advantages. The data center container as a packaging artist, the Blue e+ cooling device as a smart cooling expert. Together, this new Rittal dream team can provide answers to several problems faced by IT and data center managers: Increasing data applications like edge computing require more and more computing power, while at the same time they should operate cost-effectively, sustainably, and without hotspots. For this, all-rounders are needed that operate with a slim footprint. Addressing these future demands is the goal of Rittal's IT container: Using a new outdoor cooling solution on the exterior of the container, based on the industry-proven Blue e+ technology, more space is created inside the modular data center container for the continuously growing IT infrastructure, offering greater potential for flexible expansion of applications. At the same time, energy consumption is reduced by a third.(1) This makes it easier for data center operators to save operational and energy costs. Additionally: The installation of the previously necessary raised floor and the corresponding cooling technology inside the container is eliminated – as is the usual refrigerant piping between interior and exterior circuits. The cooling unit can thus be mounted directly on the container's exterior wall. This saves space, reduces installation effort, and additionally contributes to cost and time savings.

Robust, efficient, and controllable

“The outdoor units of the Blue e+ series are not only robust and easy to maintain, but also very energy-efficient thanks to their innovative heat pipe technology. They leave a smaller CO2 footprint,” explains Philipp Müller, Director Data Center Solutions at Rittal.(2) This ultimately reduces the total cost of ownership. The IoT interface equipped on the units also helps. All performance parameters of the cooling system can be monitored via the web interface. “This allows the IT operator to control consumption as efficiently and as necessary as possible.”

The Blue e+ Principle

The efficiency success is made possible by the hybrid technology of the Blue e+ series. In addition to an active cooling circuit for appropriate cooling, each Blue e+ unit also features a passive cooling circuit: Using an integrated heat pipe, heat is dissipated to the environment when the ambient temperature falls below the internal temperature in the container's warm aisle. This effect has a significant impact on efficiency, especially with large temperature differences.

(1) With this, containers equipped with Blue e+ outdoor cooling units are a particularly efficient solution for applications with an IT load of up to 70 kW. The appropriate configuration is also available in ISO dimensions.
(2) Thanks to the hybrid technology with passive components, Blue e+ outdoor cooling units reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 11.8 tons per year. (Design load 60 kW, full load, Frankfurt location 366 g/kWh)