Johnson Controls unveils data centre cooling systems

Johnson Controls has unveiled a range of data centre thermal management systems for high-density computing environments, including liquid cooling, chillers and modular infrastructure.

The launch focuses on equipment designed to reduce the electricity and water needed to cool data centres as operators contend with rising power demand from artificial intelligence workloads. Cooling typically accounts for 30% to 40% of total data centre energy use, according to industry estimates cited by the company.

Among the products highlighted is the YDAM magnetic bearing chiller, which delivers 3.5MW of cooling and offers 20% greater capacity density than competing systems, according to Johnson Controls. The company is also promoting its YORK absorption chillers, which use waste heat to drive cooling and can cut chiller electricity use by up to 90%.

Those absorption chillers can reduce total plant energy use by more than 40% and improve power usage effectiveness by 10%, the company said. Johnson Controls also pointed to its YK-HT two-stage economised centrifugal chiller, which it said is almost 30% smaller than alternatives and requires up to 60% fewer dry coolers.

Liquid cooling is another part of the offering. Johnson Controls said its Silent-Aire coolant distribution unit platform can scale from 500kW to more than 10MW for high-density computing installations.

Alongside the cooling equipment, the company is promoting modular data centre and utility plant designs intended to speed deployment across multiple sites. These include Triton and Leviathan modular data centre systems, as well as modular chiller utility plants.

Demand pressure

Johnson Controls is framing the product push around mounting strain on electricity grids and water resources as data centre campuses expand and rack densities increase. Hyperscale and co-location operators are building larger sites, while some server racks are moving towards 100kW and beyond, it said.

That trend has intensified the industry focus on cooling systems that can handle larger thermal loads without sharply increasing energy consumption. The company cited International Energy Agency projections that global data centre electricity demand will more than double by 2030.

Johnson Controls is also emphasising controls software as part of the package. Its Metasys building automation system is designed to maintain environmental control and manage power and water use, while software tools detect leaks, balance flows and adjust setpoints in real time.

Air management is another focus area. The company listed computer room air handlers, fan wall systems and coolant distribution units among the products it is positioning for next-generation data centre builds.

Operational focus

Johnson Controls said its strategy rests on three themes: reducing or eliminating cooling-related water use, using modular designs to make global deployment more predictable, and expanding the use of integrated controls for monitoring and diagnostics. It added that quieter fan technology is intended to reduce environmental and community impact around large data centre developments.

The company has also set out its management line-up for the data centre business, led by Austin Domenici, president of Global Data Centre Solutions, and Aaron Lewis, chief commercial officer, Global Data Centre Solutions.

Operators are increasingly looking for practical guidance on balancing performance, efficiency and resilience as data centre design shifts to support AI-driven computing, Johnson Controls said. That is driving demand for systems that span the full cooling chain, from heat rejection and chillers to liquid cooling distribution and building controls.

Its mobile Innovation Studio is being used to demonstrate products and building scenarios through live demonstrations, 3D visualisations and workshops with technical specialists. The showcase is intended to show how its systems fit together in operating environments.

"With the International Energy Agency projecting global data centre electricity demand to more than double by 2030, the shift toward advanced liquid cooling and high-capacity heat rejection has evolved from an emerging trend into a standard for operational resilience," Johnson Controls said.