Growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure is driving interest in technologies that improve data center energy efficiency and maximize available power. Johnson Controls has introduced an Absorption Chiller Reference Design Guide that outlines a framework for using waste heat from on-site power generation to support cooling systems and expand computing capacity.
The reference design is intended to help operators improve thermal management without increasing on-site power generation, based on modeled operating scenarios.
The design guide focuses on absorption chiller technology that captures waste heat produced during on-site power generation and repurposes it for cooling operations.
According to Johnson Controls, the approach can reduce cooling-related electrical demand by up to 44% under modeled conditions, allowing more available power to be directed toward AI computing workloads. For a modeled 1-gigawatt AI data center campus, the company estimates the design could support up to 97 megawatts of additional computing capacity without expanding on-site generation.
The modular reference design is intended to support deployments ranging from 100-megawatt facilities to gigawatt-scale data center campuses.
The guidance also outlines strategies to improve overall energy performance through absorption cooling technologies.
Johnson Controls states the modeled design has the potential to achieve a power usage effectiveness (PUE) as low as 1.23, eliminate on-site cooling water consumption and reduce cooling system carbon dioxide emissions by up to 43%, depending on project-specific conditions.
The company noted that the performance figures are based on modeled scenarios and that actual project results will vary according to site conditions and system design.
As AI data centers require increasing amounts of power and cooling capacity, owners and developers are evaluating technologies that maximize energy efficiency without expanding electrical infrastructure. For construction owners, engineers and contractors, standardized cooling system designs can support faster project delivery while improving operational performance and reducing the energy demands of large-scale data center developments.
Source: Johnson Controls.
