Reclaim wasted energy. Reduce cooling load. Protect uptime.
Cooling consumes up to 38% of data center energy and triggers nearly 1 in 5 outages. NovelAire’s AHRI-certified energy recovery wheels recover up to 85% of exhaust energy — for lower PUE, tighter humidity control, and more economizer hours.
Why Data Centers Need Precision Environmental Control
Every Degree and Every Grain of Moisture Matters
Data centers rely on outdoor air for pressurization and economizer operation — but it must be precisely conditioned before entering the space. Too dry, and static discharge can damage sensitive electronics; too humid, and condensation and corrosion threaten equipment and uptime.
The Humidity Dual-Threat
LOW Humidity (Below 8% RH / Below -12°C DP)
- ⚡ Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) — The most immediate risk of low humidity. Static charges accumulate on personnel, cables, and equipment surfaces. A single ESD event can destroy a server component, corrupt data, or create latent damage that causes field failures weeks later. ASHRAE TC 9.9 5th edition sets the minimum allowable humidity at -12°C dew point or 8% RH (whichever is higher) specifically to mitigate ESD risk.
- 🔌 Cable & Component Stress — Extremely dry conditions increase static buildup on cable insulation and connector surfaces, increasing the risk of arcing during hot-swap operations and cable management activities.
HIGH Humidity (Above 60% RH / Above 15°C DP Recommended)
- Condensation — When air dew point exceeds the temperature of any surface in the data center — chilled water pipes, cold aisle supply air, underfloor plenum — condensation forms. A single droplet on a circuit board can cause a short circuit, data loss, and cascading failures. The ASHRAE recommended upper limit is 15°C dew point and 60% RH (non-condensing) for exactly this reason.
- Corrosion & Conductive Anodic Filament (CAF) Growth — Sustained high humidity promotes electrochemical corrosion on circuit boards, connectors, and solder joints. CAF — conductive filament growth between copper traces on PCBs — is accelerated by moisture and can cause intermittent short circuits that are extremely difficult to diagnose.
- Mold & Contamination — High humidity in underfloor plenums, cable trays, and less-ventilated areas can promote mold growth, especially when combined with organic dust and debris.
The Economizer Humidity Problem
Airside economizers are one of the most effective strategies for reducing PUE — using outdoor air for “free cooling” when conditions permit. However, outdoor air humidity varies constantly. In humid climates, outdoor air may exceed the ASHRAE recommended dew point for thousands of hours per year, limiting economizer availability. In dry climates, low humidity outdoor air can drive indoor conditions below ESD-safe thresholds. Energy recovery wheels address both problems simultaneously: by transferring moisture between exhaust and supply airstreams, they moderate outdoor air humidity toward indoor conditions — extending economizer hours in humid climates and preventing over-drying in arid climates.
Pre-Condition Outdoor Air. Improve PUE. Extend Economizer Hours.
NovelAire’s role in data center HVAC is focused and specific: we pre-condition the outdoor air that enters your facility — whether for makeup air, pressurization, or economizer operation — by recovering up to 85% of the energy in exhaust air. This makes outdoor air arrive at the cooling system closer to indoor conditions, reducing the work (and energy) required to bring it to ASHRAE TC 9.9 specifications.
Energy Savings, PUE Impact & Sustainability
Every 0.1 PUE Improvement = Tens of Thousands in Annual Savings
Cooling systems account for up to 38% of total data center energy consumption. The average data center PUE is 1.58; best-in-class hyperscale facilities achieve 1.1–1.2. The gap between these numbers represents enormous energy — and cost — savings potential.
PUE Impact of Energy Recovery
Energy recovery on outdoor air directly reduces the cooling infrastructure energy that drives PUE above 1.0. For a facility operating at PUE 1.5 with 10% of total cooling energy attributable to outdoor air conditioning, implementing an 80% effective ECW reduces that component by ~80% — contributing a PUE improvement of approximately 0.03–0.08 depending on climate and outdoor air fraction.
Data Center Types & Applications
- Enterprise Data Centers
- Hyperscale & Cloud Data Centers
- Colocation Data Centers
- Edge Data Centers & Telecom Shelters
- Government, Defense & Command Centers
- Telecom Central Offices & Switching Centers
Ready to Improve Your Data Center’s PUE and Reliability?
From hyperscale economizer optimization to edge data center humidity control, our engineering team provides sizing, selection, and application support for every mission-critical project.