IBM onsite Chapter Meeting
"The Icemaker"
The new IBM Free Cooling System, lightheartedly called the Icemaker, has become a core component of the site’s operating cost reduction strategy, by reducing the power input for cooling in the cold months. The site consumes in excess of 30 million KWh of electricity annually in the manufacturing of semiconductors, and a significant percentage of that is attributed to the operation of cooling equipment. The site requires 14,000 gallons/minute of cooling water flow when the outside temperature is -20F. The free cooling installation projects provide almost all of the winter cooling, without refrigeration, for a nominal savings of 2000 kW per hour for the months of December through April. The weather dependent operation has generated annual savings of up to $600,000 and operated at peak hourly savings of up to $250/ hour.