There’s been a lot of talk about datacenter cooling lately, and for good reason.

According to the DoE’s “Data Center Energy Efficiency Program presentation” (PDF) earlier this year, tackling datacenter HVAC can result in substantial savings like it did for Lucasfilms’ Presidio datacenter (p.17). In that case, staging chillers; optimizing airflow; and installing a water-side economizer– plus a couple of other energy-saving tactics — will save the firm over $300,000 a year, taking them only 1.2 years to recoup the original investment.

That’s why Core4 Systems’ announcement today is worth a look. The company is launching new computer room air-conditioning (CRAC), air-handling units (AHU), chiller systems and related services that can provide datacenter operators with huge power savings over the not-so-long haul.

According to the company…

Core4 solutions can achieve average PUE’s as low as 1.25 under the current standard for data center operation: 57°F Supply Air Temperature, 68°F Return Air Temperature and 45 percent relative humidity. In stark contrast, legacy data center cooling systems are averaging a PUE of 2.25 according to the Uptime Institute. That’s a difference between spending $.44 per ton hour for cooling and less than $.11 per hour after a Core4 retrofit.

To help achieve those efficiencies, the company utilitizes three home-grown technologies that include Reduced Compression design, Scavenger Coil and MTS Cooling and fans that claim 63 percent efficiency over “legacy “plug style” fan systems.” In addition to the new HVAC tech, Core4 provides new datacenter builds or retrofits with end-to-end services including site analysis, design and engineering, deployment and monitoring.

Sonic.net is already enjoying leaner power requirements for its cooling systems. According to a case study on the colo’s Core4 implementation (PDF), they are expected to save over $160,000 a year resulting in a payback period of 2-3 years.