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Data Centre Cooling Load Calculator

Work out data centre cooling load instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Data Centre Cooling Load Calculator

Essentially all electrical energy entering IT equipment leaves as heat, so cooling capacity must match the full IT load plus lighting and losses, with margin. The coefficient of performance is how much heat is moved per unit of electricity consumed, so a COP of 3.5 means cooling adds roughly 29 percent to the facility's electrical draw.

Formula

Cooling load

heat = IT load + other loads; capacity = heat x (1 + margin); cooling electrical draw = capacity / COP; 1 ton = 3.517 kW

Worked example

With the default values below, Data Centre Cooling Load Calculator returns Cooling capacity required of 225.6. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

IT equipment loadminimum 0.1 kW
180 kW
Lighting and other loadsminimum 0 kW
8 kW
Cooling coefficient of performanceaccepts 0.5–10
3.5
Design marginaccepts 0–100 %
20 %

Results

Cooling capacity required
225.6 kW
Electrical power the cooling consumes
64.5 kW
Cooling capacity in tons
64.1 tons
Total facility electrical load
252.5 kW

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Cooling load
  3. 3Cooling capacity required= 225.6 kW
  4. 4Electrical power the cooling consumes= 64.5 kW
  5. 5Cooling capacity in tons= 64.1 tons
  6. 6Total facility electrical load= 252.5 kW

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 1 decimal place, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does IT load equal heat load?

Because computers do no mechanical work. Every watt consumed is converted to heat, which is why the two figures are treated as identical in facility design.

What improves COP?

Higher supply air temperatures, hot and cold aisle containment, free cooling using outside air, and liquid cooling for high-density racks.

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Data Centre Cooling Load Calculator | Calcrivo