In-Row Cooling

What Does In-Row Cooling Mean?

In-row cooling technology is a type of air conditioning system commonly used in data centers in which the cooling unit is placed between the server cabinets in a row for offering cool air to the server equipment more effectively.

In-row cooling systems use a horizontal airflow pattern utilizing hot aisle/cold aisle configurations and they only occupy one-half rack of row space without any additional side clearance space. Typically, each unit is about 12 inches wide by 42 inches deep.

These units may be a supplement to raised-floor cooling (creating a plenum to distribute conditioned air) or may be the primary cooling source on a slab floor.

Techopedia Explains In-Row Cooling

The in-row cooling unit draws warm exhaust air directly from the hot aisle, cools it and distributes it to the cold aisle. This ensures that inlet temperatures are steady for precise operation. Coupling the air conditioning with the heat source produces an efficient direct return air path; this is called “close coupled cooling,” which also lowers the fan energy required. In-row cooling also prevents the mixing of hot and cold air, thus increasing efficiency.