Research on data center load simulation and optimization of integrated energy system

Adopting an integrated energy system (IES) to power data centers can enhance the system’s economic efficiency and promote low-carbon and high-efficiency operations. Existing research primarily focuses on analyzing the energy efficiency, economic viability, and environmental characteristics of data center integrated energy systems, as well as exploring the feasibility of various energy supply methods. However, there remains a scarcity of literature that incorporates optimized operational strategies into system optimization and conducts detailed comparative analyses. Based on this, this paper constructs a model of a medium-sized data center; its cooling, heating, and electrical loads are simulated throughout the year. The IES, consisting of a photovoltaic power generation system, gas turbine, waste heat boiler, electric chiller, and absorption chiller, is established. By comparing the operating strategies of Following Thermal Load (FTL) and Following Electric Load (FEL), an optimization analysis is then carried out to determine the integrated energy system configuration that minimizes the data center’s annual operating costs. The main contributions of this work include (1) load simulation of the entire data center building to analyze its heating, cooling, and electrical load characteristics; (2) comparison of the operational cost optimization of FTL and FEL strategies using particle swarm optimization algorithms; and (3) based on the optimization results, analysis of the output proportions of various equipment under different strategies, revealing that the FTL strategy reduces operating costs by 20%, 6%, and 7.2% in winter, summer, and the transition season, respectively, with winter days exhibiting the lowest costs, transitional seasons showing moderate costs, and summer days the highest. This strategy can effectively reduce the costs and instability of the IES and provide a reference for the design of energy supply systems for data centers.