App. Res. of Comp. Accepted Paper
Vol. 43, 2026 No. 8

Research status and challenges of intelligent HVAC control in data centers

Wang Haonan
Wan Jianxiong
Li Jin
Liu Chuyi
Li Leixiao
College of Intelligent Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot 010080, China
DOI: 10.19734/j.issn.1001-3695.2025.12.0523

Abstract

With data centers scaling up and low-carbon operation requirements rising, cooling systems must balance thermal safety and PUE. High heat flux, heterogeneous cooling chains, and operating uncertainty make conventional rule-based control difficult to achieve both efficiency and adaptability. To clarify the state of the art and support engineering deployment, this review surveys intelligent HVAC control for data centers, focusing on paradigm taxonomy, key-feature comparison, and coordinated control scopes. Prior studies are categorized by control mechanism into rule-based control, model predictive control, online reinforcement learning, and offline reinforcement learning, and compared in terms of interpretability, constraint handling, global optimization capability, data requirements, and deployment safety mechanisms. We further summarize hierarchical coordination across air-cooled room terminals, chiller plants, economizers, and liquid-cooling loops, and discuss bottlenecks in model mismatch, prediction uncertainty, policy generalization, and robust, reproducible empirical evaluation, along with future directions.

Foundation Support

内蒙古自治区首批"五大任务"关键技术研究专项(NMGWDRW2025-03)
国家自然科学基金资助项目(62062054)
内蒙古自然科学基金资助项目(2025QN06016)
内蒙古自治区科技计划项目(2024SKYPT0012,2025KJHZ0039)
内蒙古自治区高等学校创新团队发展计划数据智能与安全项目(NMGIRT2506)
内蒙古自治区高等学校青年科技人才发展项目(NJYT24035)

Publish Information

DOI: 10.19734/j.issn.1001-3695.2025.12.0523
Publish at: Application Research of Computers Accepted Paper, Vol. 43, 2026 No. 8

Publish History

[2026-04-23] Accepted Paper

Cite This Article

王浩楠, 万剑雄, 李进, 等. 数据中心HVAC智能控制的研究现状与挑战 [J]. 计算机应用研究, 2026, 43 (8). (2026-04-30). https://doi.org/10.19734/j.issn.1001-3695.2025.12.0523. (Wang Haonan, Wan Jianxiong, Li Jin, et al. Research status and challenges of intelligent HVAC control in data centers [J]. Application Research of Computers, 2026, 43 (8). (2026-04-30). https://doi.org/10.19734/j.issn.1001-3695.2025.12.0523. )

About the Journal

  • Application Research of Computers Monthly Journal
  • Journal ID ISSN 1001-3695
    CN  51-1196/TP

Application Research of Computers, founded in 1984, is an academic journal of computing technology sponsored by Sichuan Institute of Computer Sciences under the Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province.

Aiming at the urgently needed cutting-edge technology in this discipline, Application Research of Computers reflects the mainstream technology, hot technology and the latest development trend of computer application research at home and abroad in a timely manner. The main contents of the journal include high-level academic papers in this discipline, the latest scientific research results and major application results. The contents of the columns involve new theories of computer discipline, basic computer theory, algorithm theory research, algorithm design and analysis, blockchain technology, system software and software engineering technology, pattern recognition and artificial intelligence, architecture, advanced computing, parallel processing, database technology, computer network and communication technology, information security technology, computer image graphics and its latest hot application technology.

Application Research of Computers has many high-level readers and authors, and its readers are mainly senior and middle-level researchers and engineers engaged in the field of computer science, as well as teachers and students majoring in computer science and related majors in colleges and universities. Over the years, the total citation frequency and Web download rate of Application Research of Computers have been ranked among the top of similar academic journals in this discipline, and the academic papers published are highly popular among the readers for their novelty, academics, foresight, orientation and practicality.

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