PROVING HUMIDITY A NON-ISSUE

WHEN APPLYING FREE COOLING AT

TELECOMMUNICATION BASE STATIONS
1 2
BY EHSAN B. HAGHIGHI
PHD, THERMAL SPECIALIST
DANTHERM COOLING
White paper
Proving humidity a non-issue when applying Free Cooling at telecommunication base stations, part one
By Ehsan B. Haghighi, PhD, Thermal Specialist, Dantherm Cooling

Free cooling is the most energy-efficient cooling method

and the highest savings generator within
electronics cooling.

We are frequently asked if free cooling can be used in

regions with high relative humidity without damaging the
enclosed equipment.

The answer is yes.

White paper
Proving humidity a non-issue when applying Free Cooling at telecommunication base stations, part one
By Ehsan B. Haghighi, PhD, Thermal Specialist, Dantherm Cooling

PROVING HUMIDITY A NON-ISSUE

WHEN APPLYING FREE COOLING AT
TELECOMMUNICATION BASE STATIONS
/PART ONE
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW - IN BRIEF
• Our customers need tangible proof that free cooling is applicable in highly humid
i
regions without creating an internal environment with too high relative humidity levels.

• This white paper therefore investigates the relative humidity inside a standard Telecom
site in relation to different set point temperatures and an outdoor RH of 99%.

• The study shows that free cooling can be applied in spite of very humid weather
conditions, because the relative humidity of the ambient air decreases to an ASHRAE-
recommended level when subject to the internal heat load.

1. INTRODUCTION
Most Telecom operators have this in common: wanting the most energy-efficient site cooling possible.
Free cooling remains the most energy-efficient cooling method and highest savings generator within
electronics cooling, but the technology is connected with a concern of damaging the enclosed equipment.

This concern is based on an assumption that heat removal by means of humid, outdoor air creates an
internal environment with too high humidity levels. The concern is understandable, but unnecessary.
Free cooling can in fact be applied in spite of high relative humidity of the ambient air, but we under-
stand that this requires tangible proof.

The present white paper therefore identifies the humidity levels related to applying free cooling as a
means of heat removal in Telecom network sites based on different set point temperatures and an outdo-
or RH of 99%.
White paper
Proving humidity a non-issue when applying Free Cooling at telecommunication base stations, part one
By Ehsan B. Haghighi, PhD, Thermal Specialist, Dantherm Cooling

2. INTERNAL RELATIVE HUMIDITY ACCORDING

TO THEORETICAL PARAMETERS
The following study is based on estimates according to the laws of thermodynamics in consideration of
ASHRAE and ETSI recommended and allowable environmental classes for IT equipment at sea level. The
study incorporates estimates based on RH parameters of 99%.

Figure 1 shows the recommended (the smallest quadrilateral) and allowable (other quadrilaterals) envel-
ope for IT equipment in different classes: A1-A4 at sea level. Class A1 belongs to enterprise servers with
tightly controlled environmental control. Classes A2, A3 and A4 belong to volume servers with some en-
vironmental control [1]. Table 1 shows these recommended values for IT equipment for different classes
based on ETSI standards [2]. In these white paper series, the acceptable relative humidity is assumed to
be in a conservative range within 20-80%. However, as can be seen in some classes, the allowable relati-
ve humidity is in broader ranges (cf. figure 1 and table 1).

Basically, free cooling is the supply of cool outdoor air to achieve a specific set point temperature inside
a shelter. As the outdoor air enters the shelter, it will be warmed up by the heat load inside the shelter,
generated by the enclosed equipment. This process can be shown by a straight line on a Psychrometric
chart (the blue line in Figure 1).

Outdoor air with a relative humidity (RH) of 99% and different temperatures (0-23 °C) is assumed to be
supplied to an enclosure/shelter containing electronic equipment. The indoor temperature set point is
assumed to be 25-27 °C. Dry bulb temperature (T), dew point temperature (Td) and relative humidity
(RH) are related to each other based on the modified Magnus formula as seen below [3].

Where a = 17.625, b = 243.04, T and Td

are in °C, and RH is in %. The outdoor
air (blue line in Figure 1) goes through a
constant dew point temperature process.
According to this assumption, the outdo-
or air is warmed up and the relative hu-
midity naturally changes. Figure 2 shows
the indoor relative humidity calculated
by eqs. (1)-(3).

Based on the results in almost all cases,

the relative humidity is within the sele-
cted lower and upper limit (within 20-
80%). For a few points, where the relative
humidity is beyond this range, an air con-
ditioning unit and/or a heater is needed
to adjust the indoor climate.
White paper
Proving humidity a non-issue when applying Free Cooling at telecommunication base stations, part one
By Ehsan B. Haghighi, PhD, Thermal Specialist, Dantherm Cooling

2. CONTINUED, INTERNAL RELATIVE HUMIDITY

ACCORDING TO THEORETICAL PARAMETERS
3.1 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6
(normal) (exceptional)
Temperature +5 to +40 -5 to +40 -5 to +40 -25 to +55 -40 to +70 -40 to +40 +15 to +30
range (Co)
Relative
humidity 5-85 5-90 5-95 10-100 10-100 10-100 10-75
range (%)
Table 1: ETSI-recommended environmental classes for IT equipment [2]

Figure 1: Psychrometric chart,

SI metric units, sea level,
barometric pressure - 101.3
kPa (ASHRAE recommended
and allowable environmental
classes for IT equipment at
sea level) [1]
White paper
Proving humidity a non-issue when applying Free Cooling at telecommunication base stations, part one
By Ehsan B. Haghighi, PhD, Thermal Specialist, Dantherm Cooling

3. INTERNAL RELATIVE HUMIDITY

ACCORDING TO ACTUAL PARAMETERS
To generate calculation results based on real-life conditions, the following calculations assume the
shelter to operate in a very humid location such as San Francisco. Figure 3 and figure 4 show the hourly
based outdoor temperature and relative humidity for San Francisco International Airport [4].

Figure 2: Indoor relative humidity vs.enclosure temperature set point for outdoor air
with different temperatures and RH=99%
White paper
Proving humidity a non-issue when applying Free Cooling at telecommunication base stations, part one
By Ehsan B. Haghighi, PhD, Thermal Specialist, Dantherm Cooling

3. CONTINUED, INTERNAL RELATIVE HUMIDITY

ACCORDING TO ACTUAL PARAMETERS
The indoor relative humidity is calculated through the procedure explained in section 2, using equations
(1) to (3) assuming the indoor set point to be 27 °C (Figure 3). The calculated indoor relative humidity is
shown in Figure 4.

As depicted, although the outdoor relative humidity is close to 100% during many hours of a year, the
indoor relative humidity is always below 80% and on minor occasions below 20% (5% of total time).
On the other hand, as indicated in figure 4, the relative humidity is within the selected upper and lower
limits (20-80%) during 95% of a year.

Figure 3: Outdoor temperature for SF internatio- Figure 4: Relative humidity for outdoor air for SF
nal airport and shelter set point international airport and indoor shelter

4. CONCLUSION
The present white paper aimed to identifiy the humidity levels related to applying free cooling as a means of
heat removal in Telecom network sites. Based on ASHRAE and ETSI recommended and allowable environ-
mental classes for IT equipment at sea level, the calculations show that the relative humidity remains
within the selected upper and lower limits for the included parameters. In conclusion, Free Cooling can
in fact be applied for excess heat removal in highly humid regions without damaging the enclosed equip-
ment. In cases, where the relative humidity should move beyond the allowed range, an air conditioner is
recommended to adjust the indoor climate. This is discussed in part two of these white paper series.

references
[1] ASHRAE, 2012, Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments, Third Edition
[2] ETSI EN 300 019-1-3 V2.2.2 (2004-03), European Standard (Telecommunications series)
[3] Alduchov, O. A., and R. E. Eskridge, 1996: Improved Magnus form approximation of saturation vapor pressure. J. Appl. Meteor., 35, 601–609
[4] https://weatherspark.com
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