SKB Develops IDC Hybrid Air Conditioner... 14% Reduction in Power Consumption

SK Broadband announced on the 18th that it has developed a hybrid air conditioner to control the temperature of data centers (IDC) for the first time in the domestic IDC industry, reducing power consumption by up to 14% compared to existing systems.

SK Broadband plans to install the hybrid air conditioners starting with the Ilsan IDC at the end of this month, followed by the Seocho IDC, Bundang IDC, and Dongjak Communication Office.

Since September last year, SK Broadband has been working with partners to develop a high-efficiency cooling system to manage the heat generated by operating a large number of servers. The successfully developed air conditioner adopts a hybrid method using an inverter compressor to compensate for the shortcomings of the existing fixed-speed air conditioners. The hybrid air conditioner is said to reduce the power consumption of air conditioners, which account for 18% of the IDC's total power consumption, by 14%.

The hybrid air conditioner contributes to social responsibility (ESG) by reducing carbon emissions from data centers through decreased power consumption. It lowers the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), an index indicating the efficiency of power usage. The closer the PUE is to 1, the higher the efficiency, and the average PUE of global data centers is about 1.8.

Along with this, since last year, SK Broadband has been recovering waste heat generated from IDCs and utilizing it for heating inside IDC buildings during the winter, leading efforts to reduce heating costs. Additionally, by analyzing operational data, only the key components of the air conditioners are replaced while existing equipment is recycled to minimize waste generation. Leveraging the technology and know-how accumulated through operating data centers, SK Broadband is also committed to fulfilling social responsibilities required by the expansion of data centers through its tech leadership.

Kim Kyung-deok, Head of SK Broadband Enterprise CIC, stated, “With the development of the hybrid air conditioner, we have contributed to reducing carbon emissions from data centers by lowering power consumption. We will continue to actively pursue technology development for various energy-saving efforts within data centers and fulfill our social responsibilities.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.