Atlas : Dynamic HVAC Cooling Capacity and Thermal Load Assessment
1. Introduction – Problem Statement
Temperature monitoring is crucial for most telecom and power utility facilities. These facilities house multiple devices that generate a significant amount of heat, including routers, switches, servers, rectifiers, power distribution units and others. Therefore, it is important for telecommunication and power utility providers to monitor temperature across their sites. Ensuring that the ambient temperature is appropriate in telecom sites is critical to prevent equipment shutdowns, to extend battery life, to ensure network reliability and to avoid any service disruptions.
Many of these companies choose to directly monitor their Heat, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) units. This allows them to track not only the ambient temperature across their sites, but to also monitor the operational status of their HVAC units across their network – which are crucial for the network’s operability. However, it can still be challenging for telecom and power utility companies to determine whether the cooling power provided by the HVAC systems in their sites is sufficient to manage the heat generated by the equipment. Furthermore, it is even more difficult to plan for expansion projects and determine if the current HVAC systems are still sufficient to manage the additional heat load from the project.
In this use case, we will explore how monitoring HVAC units can help telecoms and power utilities manage the heat load across their sites. We will explain how the HVAC data can be reported into Multitel’s Atlas network monitoring software, and how users can leverage Atlas to validate that these HVAC units are sufficient to support the heat loads across their sites. We will also discuss how Atlas can be used to plan for expansion projects and determine the required cooling power for these projects.
2. HVAC Monitoring in Telecom Sites
Many of the HVAC units used in telecom or power utility sites are equipped with a communication card or controller. Others are compatible with control boards that use analog measurements and dry contacts. It is therefore possible to remotely monitor these units by interfacing with the communication cards. Most often, HVAC units are wired to a Remote Telemetry Unit (RTU) or gateway for remote monitoring. This enables the entirety of the data monitored by the HVAC units to be accessed remotely.
Figure 1: Multitel’s iO Supervisor RTU
For example, Multitel’s iO Supervisor RTU can monitor HVAC units. The iO Supervisor is vendor-agnostic and supports Modbus RTU, Modbus TCP/IP and SNMP communication protocols, making it compatible with most HVAC communication cards and controllers.
Once the HVAC data is integrated into an RTU or gateway, it can be reported back into Atlas. Atlas is also vendor-agnostic and can integrate any device using the Modbus TCP/IP and SNMP communication protocols. As a result, it can integrate data from almost any RTU. Atlas also has the ability to integrate HVAC controllers directly, without the need for a remote telemetry unit, depending on the communication protocol used.
Once communication is established between Atlas and the HVAC units, special forms can be created for inventory and monitoring purposes. Examples of these forms are presented in the following subsections.
2.1 Forms for HVAC Inventory Management in Atlas
As stated above, user-configurable forms can be used in Atlas to display critical information regarding HVAC units in the field. These forms can be edited to display for users the most important information from the equipment. The following example represents a form configured in Atlas to display basic information regarding HVACs
Figure 2: Form configured in Atlas to display inventory management related information regarding HVAC units
This form displays the HVAC’s name, manufacturer and model number. It also contains a field to input the device’s IP address and displays technical information from the HVAC unit. For instance, the unit type can be specified: packaged unit, split system, chiller, boiler, cooler, etc. Finally, users can track the lifecycle of the devices by inputting the unit’s installation date, expected lifespan, last maintenance date and scheduled next maintenance.
2.2 Forms for HVAC Monitoring in Atlas
In addition to basic information regarding the HVAC units, the forms in Atlas can be configured to include real-time data monitored from their controllers. The following form was configured in Atlas to display data remotely monitored at the HVAC level.
Figure 3: Form configured in Atlas for HVAC monitoring
In this example, different statuses are included and are typically available in the HVAC controllers. These include the HVAC’s cooling, humidifying and fan statuses, leak detection and other indicators. Below these statuses, temperature and humidity-related data are displayed, including input and output measurements, as well as the device’s setpoint and tolerance. A user defined status has also been configured in Atlas for the temperature/humidity input data. This allows the users to be quickly alerted if the temperature is too high or too low at a site. In addition to this, an “out of tolerance” indicator is available in the form. More precisely, Atlas automatically determines if the temperature and humidity outputs are outside of the tolerated values based on the setpoints and tolerances monitored from the controller. As a result, users can be quickly notified if the temperature and humidity readings fall outside the specified ranges. Once again, the form presented in Figure 3 is an example and is fully user-configurable. Atlas users can remove or add information to better reflect their reality and application.
3. Solution – Validating Cooling Capacity with Atlas
Figure 4: Example of an Asset tree for cooling power and capacity tracking in Atlas
In the previous section, we showed how the data from the HVAC units can be presented in Atlas for managing the temperature data. In the paragraphs below, we will explain how Atlas can go beyond simple temperature monitoring and provide critical information related to cooling power and capacity at the site.
Figure 4 shows an example of an architecture (asset tree) configured in Atlas for cooling power and capacity monitoring. In this architecture, a telecom site includes different types of equipment, such as power plants, generators and BDFBs. Rooms have also been created in this site. Specifically, two rooms have been created in this particular site. In each of these rooms, there are a certain number of HVAC units. Some of the HVAC units and rooms appear green, while others appear red. This is due to user-defined business rules that have been implemented in Atlas. In this example, the HVACs and rooms appear green when the temperature is considered acceptable, and in blue when the temperature is considered too low, and in red when considered too high. Using this kind of architecture, users can quickly determine their cooling capacity needs for individual rooms and sites based on the heat generated by the equipment.
The following subsections describe interfaces configured in Atlas for each level of the asset tree.
3.1 Tracking HVAC Cooling Power in Atlas
Earlier on, we detailed an interface configured in Atlas for monitoring the statuses, temperature and humidity data available in the HVAC controllers. Forms can also be configured to include HVAC capacity, usage and cooling power.
Figure 5: Example of a form configured in Atlas for HVAC capacity, usage and cooling power
In this form, the equipment’s capacity can be polled from its controller or entered manually by the user. More specifically, it is possible to include removal capacity and/or rejection capacity, based on the equipment’s nature. Some devices are designed to perform heat removal (removing the heat from the telecom space), while some are specialized in rejecting heat (rejecting the heat outside of the building). This form also displays the HVAC’s usage, which is normally polled directly from the controller. This usage percentage represents the unit’s capacity utilization. A high usage value indicates that the building requires a significant amount of cooling or that the cooling system needs to be optimized. Finally, the form includes the unit’s cooling removal/rejection power, which is automatically computed by Atlas using the following equation:
Here, since the removal capacity is 100 kW and the usage is 74%, the calculation result for removal power is 74 kW. In short, Atlas can use a combination of data monitored in real time by the HVAC units and static information from the equipment to calculate the cooling power delivered in real time by the HVAC units.
3.2 Keeping Track of Cooling Power and Capacity in Rooms
Once the cooling capacity and power is integrated at the HVAC level, it can easily be reported into to a higher level of the Atlas architecture – the rooms. Below is an example of a form that was configured in Atlas for tracking the cooling capacity of HVACs of specific rooms.
Figure 6: Example of a form that was configured in Atlas for tracking the cooling capacity of HVACs in specific rooms
This form first displays the average temperature and humidity throughout the room. More specifically, Atlas automatically calculates the average temperature and humidity data from all HVAC units in the room. Since these readings are associated with custom statuses, users can be quickly alerted and take corrective actions if these readings are too high or too low.
Below the temperature and humidity data, information related to the heat dissipation in the room is displayed. Users can manually enter in this field an approximation of the heat dissipation created by the equipment in the room. They can also input the projected heat additions to support planning for future projects.
This allows the users to validate that the cooling capacity provided by the HVAC systems in the room are sufficient to manage the heat load. In fact, the total heat removal and heat rejection capacity in the room is also displayed. This information is automatically calculated by Atlas based on the data collected at the HVAC level. This enables Atlas to easily calculate the following ratios of total heat dissipation in the room over the total heat removal/rejection capacities of the HVAC equipment. Users can ensure that this ratio is under 100% (e.g., ensure that the heat load can be managed by the current cooling equipment). Similarly, Atlas can help users plan for expansion projects. As shown in Figure 6, Atlas can also calculate the ratio of the planned heat dissipation in the room over the total heat removal/rejection capacities of the HVAC devices. This allows the users, based on the “planned heat addition” inputted, to validate that the current cooling equipment will sufficiently manage the additional heat load for a given expansion project. Simulating heat loads in Atlas can help to plan for these expansion projects and minimize risks associated with overloading sites. For example, for the room presented in Figure 6, the total heat removal capacity from the HVACs is 200 kW, while the total heat dissipation from the equipment is 142 kW. Hence, the “heat over removal capacity” ratio is 71%, and a “moderate” status has been associated with this reading. Also, in Figure 6, the user plans to add 48 kW of heat dissipation in this room for an expansion project. The “planned heat over removal capacity” ratio is therefore 95%, which is considered “critical.”
Finally, it is also important for users to validate that the heat rejection capacity in the room is greater than the heat removal capacity. As a matter of fact, this ensures that the heat removed from the room can also be rejected from the building. Thus, a “removal over rejection capacity” ratio has been added to the form. Here, since the heat removal capacity is 200 kW and the heat rejection capacity is 250 kW, the calculated ratio is equal to 80%.
3.3 Keeping Track of Cooling Power and Capacity in Sites
The form presented in Figure 6 was designed for specific rooms. However, since the Atlas interface is flexible and fully configurable, such forms can also be used to created a multi-layered architecture including floors, aisles and sites. An example of a form specifically designed to track cooling power and capacity in sites is presented in Figure 7.
Figure 7: Example of a form that was configured in Atlas for tracking the cooling capacity of HVACs in specific sites
Notice that both forms presented in Figures 6 and 7 display the same information. The difference is that Figure 7 displays the cooling data for an entire site, rather than for a specific room. For instance, the “total heat dissipation from equipment” represents the total heat generated by all the equipment across the site, and the “total removal capacity” represents the total heat removal capacity from a combination of all cooling units in the site. As a result, the “actual heat over removal capacity” ratio is a global ratio across the site, and not specific to a room.
Using Atlas’s fully customizable and flexible interface, users can therefore create forms to validate the cooling capacity at any level: racks, cabinets, aisles, rooms, floors, sites, etc.
4. Outputs And Benefits
As discussed above, Atlas can be used to seamlessly integrate and centralize the environmental data, as well as cooling capacity and power data, from multiple sites. Keeping track of HVAC cooling capacity and power data in a centralized web-based platform like Atlas can yield the following benefits:
Increased Network Reliability: Using Atlas’s custom statuses and notifications, users can quickly be alerted when abnormal conditions occur with their cooling systems. Furthermore, users can keep track of the environmental data over time. For instance, environmental temperature and humidity trends, such as the ones displayed below, enable users to detect significant temperature increases or drops in humidity.
Figure 8: Example of trends in Atlas for temperature and humidity data
The graphs above, when used with the forms presented in the previous section, help users identify the sites where the cooling capacity is insufficient to manage the heat load generated by the equipment and to take corrective action, thus avoiding any overheating conditions at the sites.
Energy Cost Reductions: Using Atlas’s network view, users can centralize the data from each site. For example, the interface below is a network view in Atlas specifically designed to display critical HVAC data in a telecommunications network.
Figure 9 : Network view for HVAC data centralization in Atlas
Using this type of network view, users can easily identify overcooling conditions, as well HVAC units with higher usage. This allows users to identify opportunities to optimize the cooling systems at those sites. Since cooling represents an important portion of a telecom site’s energy consumption, identifying inefficient sites and optimizing cooling systems can yield significant cost savings.
Plan For Future Projects: As mentioned earlier, the Atlas interface enables users to validate that the cooling power in a specific room or site is sufficient to manage the additional heat load when new equipment is deployed. The interface makes it easy for users to determine whether the existing cooling infrastructure can manage the additional heat load or if new cooling devices need to be purchased.
Smarter Maintenances: Instead of planned calendar-based servicing, Atlas enables users to perform maintenances based on performance. For instance, Atlas can be used to track cooling efficiency degradation over time and detect HVAC abnormalities. This type of visibility allows users to plan proactive maintenance rather than reactive. Atlas also provides access to centralized information for all HVACs deployed throughout the network. Quick access to the most critical data makes it easier for operators to dispatch site visits more efficiently, thereby minimizing associated costs.
5. Conclusion
The aim of this use case was to demonstrate how Atlas can be configured and used for tracking cooling capacity and power in telecom and power utility sites. As previously stated, the Atlas interface is flexible and allows users to validate cooling capacity sufficiency for specific equipment, aisles, rooms, floors or sites. We also discussed how Atlas can be used to validate cooling power sufficiency for planning expansion projects with new equipment deployed across sites. By providing a centralized and structured view of cooling resources, Atlas helps organizations assess whether existing HVAC infrastructure can support additional loads before deployment.
Overall, the integration of HVAC data into Atlas and the continuous monitoring of cooling capacity and power contribute to increased network reliability while helping reduce energy-related operating costs. This visibility also enables teams to detect inefficiencies, prevent thermal risks, and make better-informed operational decisions. Finally, this integration supports more efficient maintenance practices by allowing teams to identify performance issues earlier, prioritize interventions, and better manage HVAC assets across multiple sites. As a result, Atlas becomes a valuable tool not only for monitoring
In addition to monitoring HVAC units along with cooling power and capacity, telecom and power utility operators can benefit from remotely controlling certain aspects of cooling equipment. For example, Lead/Lag applications can be designed to ensure that the utilization of the devices in the sites is balanced. This allows the units to be aligned on similar maintenance cycles and lifecycles. Such control can be achieved using Multitel hardware products, such as the iO Supervisor. We will discuss this type of application in a further use case.
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