Daikin, a Japanese multinational air conditioning manufacturing company, has acquired two U.S. key air conditioner system suppliers, Alliance Air Products headquartered near San Diego, California, and CM3 Building Solutions based in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, for 30 billion yen ($260 million) in a move to capture the fast-growing data center business.
With these acquisitions, Daikin hopes to become a key player in the market for air conditioners for data centers, which is expanding at a rate of over 10% annually. Daikin wants to dominate this market in the United States despite increased competition.
Alliance Air Products specializes in creating components that release cold air, and CM3 Building Solutions creates energy management systems for structures. With these acquisitions, Daikin wants to be able to offer comprehensive packages for large-scale air-conditioning systems.
Daikin may have a significant cost advantage over Alliance Air because of the latter’s production in Mexico. Special components are needed for data centers, and other companies who produce them frequently do so in the United States.
As fifth-generation communications technology takes off and makes it possible for vehicles, factories, and infrastructure to be connected to the internet and monitored in real time, it is anticipated that the construction of data centers will increase.
Although it’s anticipated that data centers will lead to a more connected society, there are concerns about how much electricity they use. At data centers, the expense of running air conditioners accounts for 30% or more of power consumption.
In Southeast Asia, knowing that it has a tropical climate with high temperatures and humidity, they can be challenging environments for data center cooling.
It is important to note that the type of cooling system used should be carefully chosen based on the specific requirements of the data center and the local climate conditions. Proper planning and design can ensure that data centers in Southeast Asia are able to operate efficiently and effectively.
