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Cooling & Liquid Cooling Hub

Course · Cooling Fundamentals

Introduction to Data Center Thermal Engineering

A six-lesson foundation in the physics and vocabulary of data center cooling. Each lesson takes about 5 to 8 minutes and ends with three self-check questions.

Lessons

  1. Lesson 1

    Fundamentals of Heat Transfer

    Heat, temperature and the three heat transfer modes, and how they explain where server heat goes.

    7 min
  2. Lesson 2

    Cooling Capacity and Engineering Units

    kW, BTU/h and refrigeration tons, the difference between thermal and electrical power, and how to convert correctly.

    6 min
  3. Lesson 3

    Sensible and Latent Cooling

    Sensible versus latent heat, humidity, the sensible heat ratio, and why data center loads are predominantly sensible.

    6 min
  4. Lesson 4

    Airflow and Temperature Difference

    Supply and return temperatures, air density and specific heat, and the sensible heat equation with a worked example.

    8 min
  5. Lesson 5

    Data Center Cooling Architectures

    Room, in-row and rack-level cooling; CRAH and CRAC units; chilled-water and direct expansion systems; and basic liquid cooling concepts.

    8 min
  6. Lesson 6

    Energy Efficiency and Thermal Performance

    PUE and its limits, where cooling energy goes, temperature optimisation, containment, and the challenges of high density.

    8 min

Educational content only. The Academy is not accredited training and does not issue certificates. Calculations in lessons are preliminary estimates, not equipment selection.