Free Cooling

At the facility level, large data centers must transfer tens of megawatts of heat between different cooling circuits.

In these applications, plate-and-frame heat exchangers are commonly used because they provide scalability, serviceability, and excellent thermal performance. Units of this type can transfer 10–15 MW of thermal power per heat exchanger while maintaining low pressure drops even at very high flow rates. They also play a critical role in enabling free cooling strategies, where naturally low ambient temperatures are used to partially or fully replace mechanical chilling.

Under favorable conditions, free cooling allows facilities to:
significantly reduce electrical energy consumption
decrease compressor operating hours
improve overall PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness)