IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v318y2025ics0360544225004657.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

MILP optimization of the multi-heat pump waste heat recovery system integrated with full-free cooling data center through lake water

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Shuyi
  • Zhang, Quan
  • Zhai, John
  • Liu, Haowen
  • Chen, Gang
  • Lei, Jianjun
  • Liao, Shuguang

Abstract

Free cooling and waste heat recovery are vital and promising energy-saving technologies for the cooling system of data centers and the heating system of nearby buildings. The multi-heat pump system with different heat capacities is one of the most effective ways to extract heat from data centers, which need to match the cooling and heating demand in varied times and spaces. It will improve the performance of the integrated system, however, it raises their complexity and decreases the reliability. This study developed a comprehensive model from the computer room to heat consumers, mainly including information technology (IT) equipment heat dissipation, computer room air handler (CRAH), heat exchanger, water pump, heat pump, and thermal energy storage tank (TES). Based on mixed integer linear programming (MILP), an optimization control strategy was used to save energy without sacrificing the data center's reliability by regulating key operating parameters, such as the partial load ratio (PLR) of the heat pump, the ON-OFF mode, water pump's flow rate, and the heat storage and release mode of TES. Compared to the rule-based strategy, the MILP-based strategy improved the heat pump's daily average coefficient of performance (COP) and the heating system's energysaving rate by 1.19 and 15.11 % in winter, 1.21 and 14.68 % in the transition season, 1.13 and 12.91 % in summer, respectively. The related energy consumption of the cooling system in the above three seasons decreased by 3.78 %, 3.50 %, and 3.38 %, and the annual power usage effectiveness (PUE) reduced by 0.01. The annual energy-saving rate of the whole system was 8.12 %, and its global coefficient of performance (GCOP) increased from 9.96 to 10.85.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Shuyi & Zhang, Quan & Zhai, John & Liu, Haowen & Chen, Gang & Lei, Jianjun & Liao, Shuguang, 2025. "MILP optimization of the multi-heat pump waste heat recovery system integrated with full-free cooling data center through lake water," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:318:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225004657
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.134823
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225004657
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.134823?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:318:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225004657. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.