Technoeconomic analysis of the applicability of trigeneration systems in data centers

Parallel to the rapid development in information processing technologies, the need for data centers for data processing and storage is increasing day by day. Data centers have become more energy-dense than many building types in terms of energy consumption, especially due to the intense use in cloud systems and communication networks, especially during the crypto money and pandemic period. Energy costs have also had a significant share in the operation of these systems. Cooling the white area is important so that the internal temperature of the servers does not exceed the limit temperature in the electronic components. Starting from the design stage in data centers, the standard (Tier III, Tier IV, etc.) has been determined in the structure, such as the redundant design of the mechanical systems due to the 24/7 working requirement, modeling of air distribution with CFD analysis, and the creation of operating scenarios. In this study, by taking the energy consumption data of a data center in use, both electricity production and chilled water production were examined with the trigeneration option instead of the existing gaseous cooling system. Trigeneration systems will have very short payback periods in data centers mainly due to the requirement to be operated at full load continuously and the ability to produce chilled water by utilizing the waste heat of the main drive. According to the load profile obtained with the study, three different capacities of internal combustion engines were selected and the economic analysis of 20 years and the effect of the system on carbon dioxide emissions were discussed. According to the results, it has been determined that the system selection suitable for the data center capacity must be obtained through detailed analysis. The payback period of the system is calculated as 2-2,5 years. In addition, the average reduction in annual CO2 emissions has been calculated as 12 400-16 330 tons.