Ask HN: Why don't datacenters have passive rooflines like Net Zero homes? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Why don't datacenters have passive rooflines like Net Zero homes?

4 pointswesturner8 comments

E.g. the "shed roof" is a passive roofline?

And other questions: "Ask HN: Does mounting servers parallel with the temperature gradient trap heat?" (2020) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23033210

Do you have any examples of the kind of datacenter roofs you think are problematic?

OTOH from memory, datacenter roofs are typically flat with HVAC gear.

They don't have windcatchers or motionless rooftop wind energy turbines.

And they aren't angled to optimize thermal flow through the facility.

What are some examples of passive rooflines?

The shed roof is an example of a passive roofline; which angles up towards one side and causes passive thermal exchange. FWIU you can just open and close vents at the peak of the roof according to time of day, internal and external temp and humidity, and the weather forecats

Passive cooling > Modulation and heat dissipation techniques: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_cooling#Modulation_and...

/? Passive roofline: https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEA&search_query=Passive...

There's probably some reason that there aren't data centers with angled roofs other than that there's typically HVAC equipment up there?

More surface area at the top of the structure should make for greater passive thermal exchange; though a more focused extreme thermal gradient is probably most useful for thermal energy reclamation with arrays of solid-state thermoelectric heat engines?

ok so "flat with HVAC gear" is that you consider "not passive"? Better question for you: why aren't datacenter roofs covered in solar, especially in places like Sparks and Clark, NV?

What open source tools could we use to model the impact on thermal exchange efficiency of: roof surface area given prevailing wind, the impact of rooftop renewables on laminar flow, features that cause passive airflow though the building,?

FWIU wind turbines and solar panels have a local heating effect at ground level; but does that help exchange wasted heat with the air above the datacenter? (The heat is wasted inefficiently instead of thermoelectric recapture)

Really white paint reflects thermal radiation, but is probably very bright for techs maintaining units on the moon. Some PV (and maybe TPV? [Agrivoltaic]) panels have an underside with an additional layer of inverted panels.

https://www.openfoam.com/

awesome-fluid-dynamics: https://github.com/lento234/awesome-fluid-dynamics

TIL about Anosov flows? https://github.com/dynamicslab/pysindy/issues/383#event-1002...

awesome-machine-learning-fluid-mechanics > Opensource CFD codes lists openfoam and a few others https://github.com/ikespand/awesome-machine-learning-fluid-m...

Open Sustainable Technology: https://github.com/protontypes/open-sustainable-technology#o...

SunPy: https://sunpy.org/

air in data centers is actively managed, one of the big things is the need to filter out particulates. The moisture content also needs to be controlled. One cannot have open exchange with the external environment's air.

Flat roofs are easier and can have equipment placed on them

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