Designed specifically for data center applications, Vertiv™ Liebert® EFC Composite Heat Exchanger offers a newly patented polymer plate heat exchanger, which aims to maximize energy efficiency and significantly reduce water usage throughout the year.
The new heat exchanger design minimizes the aerodynamic impact of the internal parts with its new and improved version that enhances heat transfer, while its asymmetric configuration minimizes the pressure drop and energy costs related to air recirculation.
This is especially visible when compared to previous configurations equipped with legacy aluminum heat exchangers. Liebert® EFC significantly reduces the pressure drop and provides increased annual efficiency and a higher maximum airflow.
Additionally, it enables high mechanical resistance, intrinsic noise mitigation, and easy cleaning. This is partially attributed to its new polymeric material – it combines high durability with extreme corrosion resistance, which then leads to a better ratio of water quality and minimum water consumption.
The goal is for the new polymer exchanger to help data center operators achieve their sustainability goals faster, so Vertiv™ Liebert® EFC Composite Heat Exchanger was designed to do just that with the following characteristics.
The Main Benefits of Vertiv™ Liebert® EFC Composite Heat Exchanger
- Increased annual energy efficiency between 5-19% due to very high heat exchange and reduced energy expense for air circulation;
- Increased resistance to both structural and chemical corrosion, allowing a wider range of water quality to be utilized by including recycled water and ensuring easier water management and maintenance;
- Reduced water consumption up to 15% with a corresponding increase in WUE (Water Usage Effectiveness) associated with higher water recirculation capacities and fewer constraints on the limit concentrations of constituents in the water allowed.
Liebert® EFC is able to provide these advantages because it is equipped with an advanced control system which allows the temperature to be maintained with high precision in the different operating modes of the unit: dry, with water evaporation, and with mechanical cooling integration.
The Main Functions of Liebert® EFC Composite Heat Exchanger
While the Composite Heat Exchanger marks the last patent on Liebert® EFC, there are many other patented control functions:
- Emergency Water Saver - seeks to minimize water consumption during periods of limited water availability.
- Cost Function - allows the most effective and efficient mode of operation to be identified under all conditions based on local water and energy costs.
- Power Demand Limit - limits the maximum electrical absorption to a settable maximum value in case of power emergency situations. The generator, UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies), and emergency electrical structure can thus be downsized.
- Winter Saver - takes full advantage of the system cooling capabilities at low outside temperatures by reducing the air flow rate and lowering the supply temperature.
On top of these functions, Liebert® EFC is completed by a fast restart function with an ultracap buffer battery, ensuring fast response times and cooling continuity in the event of a power failure.
The Teamwork functionality is also included in the control and does not require any additional external devices, allowing the group of units dedicated to the same data hall to operate as a single entity with control of optimized temperatures and airflow rates.
All these patterns and functions make Liebert® EFC a high-efficiency indirect evaporative cooling unit. It combines indirect air-to-air heat exchange and evaporative cooling technology in a single system to achieve pPUE levels of 1.05, while ensuring maximum energy efficiency, optimized water consumption, and minimized operating costs. The brand new, patented polymer heat exchanger maximizes these benefits for even higher levels of sustainability.
This is just a sneak peek into what Liebert® EFC Composite Heat Exchanger can do for data centers. Get the brochure or contact one of our Vertiv experts to learn more about evaporative cooling and how to integrate it into your sustainability plans.
