Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-06-23 Origin: Site
Fan Wall (also called Air Wall) is a near-aisle centralized air cooling solution designed for high-density AI racks with power load ranging from 20 kW to 100 kW per rack. Composed of EC fan arrays and large-area heat exchangers, it delivers horizontal air supply to replace traditional CRAC/CRAH units. Perfect for GPU clusters including NVIDIA H100/H200 and AMD MI300X, it features high heat dissipation capacity, superior energy efficiency, rapid installation and flexible scalability.
1. Classification & Positioning
Standard Fan Wall: Installed at the end or side of server aisles, matching the full height of racks. Single unit cooling capacity: 80–600 kW. Covers entire rows or zones with horizontal airflow, ideal for large-scale AI data centers (100+ racks).
Mini Fan Wall: Slim modular units (depth: 200–600 mm) deployed between aisles or beside racks. Single module cooling capacity: 10–80 kW. Targets individual rows or local high-density racks, suitable for medium & small data centers, edge sites and retrofit projects.
Different from room-level traditional cooling that cools the whole space, Fan Wall delivers cold air directly to rack inlets, cutting cold air loss from 30–50% down to below 10%.
2. Working Principle (Horizontal Airflow + Hot/Cold Aisle Containment)
Air Return: Draw hot exhaust air (40–55°C) from hot aisles.
Heat Exchange: Hot air is cooled to 24–29°C via chilled water, DX or dual-source coils.
Air Supply: High-efficiency EC fans push conditioned cold air to cold aisles and rack front ends steadily.
Intelligent Control: AI-based BMS automatically adjusts fan speed (0–100%) and water valve opening according to GPU inlet temperature to eliminate hotspots.
Note: Full hot & cold aisle containment is required to avoid air mixing, ensuring cold air utilization rate over 90%.
3. Core Advantages for High-Density AI Workloads
3.1 Cooling Density Coverage
Standard air cooling: 20–50 kW per rack (for mainstream 8-GPU H100 clusters)
Enhanced air cooling: 40–70 kW per rack (for high-load H200 / MI300X)
Hybrid cooling (Fan Wall + Cold Plate): 70–100 kW per rack (ultra-high density scenarios)
3.2 Energy Efficiency & PUE
Adopts IE5 high-efficiency EC fans with over 90% efficiency under partial load, saving 20–30% fan power compared with conventional CRAC units.
Supports multiple cooling modes: chilled water, pump-driven DX and dual cooling source. Free cooling is available in low ambient temperature seasons, lowering overall PUE to 1.15–1.25.
No raised floor required, reducing capital cost and shortening deployment time by 50%.
3.3 Modularity & Maintainability
Stackable modular design, capacity expandable on demand.
Hot-swap components enable maintenance without system shutdown; mean time to repair (MTTR) < 30 minutes.
Universal for new build, renovation, and modular edge data centers.
4. Typical Application Scenarios
Large-scale AI Clusters (100+ racks): Deploy standard Fan Wall for 40–50 kW/rack load, achieving PUE below 1.2.
High-Density GPU Rows (20–50 racks): Adopt Mini Fan Wall between aisles for 30–40 kW/rack, friendly for facility renovation.
Ultra-High Density (>70 kW/rack): Hybrid solution with Fan Wall and cold plates. Cold plates remove 70–80% of chip heat, while Fan Wall controls ambient temperature.
Edge AI & Small Data Centers (<20 racks): Wall-mounted Mini Fan Wall, no raised floor needed for fast commissioning.
5. Key Selection Parameters
Rack power density: Confirm load grade (20 / 40 / 50 / 70 kW/rack)
Air volume & static pressure: ≥2000 m³/h per rack, static pressure ≥150 Pa
Fan grade: IE5 EC fan with full speed regulation (0–100%)
Cooling medium & water temperature: 18/26°C chilled water (preferred)
Dimension: Standard Fan Wall: 2.4–3.6 m width; Mini Fan Wall: 200–600 mm depth
Communication & control: Support Modbus/TCP, intelligent temperature control and remote alarm
