Specifications
Product Family
Vertiv Liebert DCD Rear Door Heat Exchanger (passive and water-cooled active variants)
Cooling Capacity
Up to 50 kW of IT heat load per rack
Configuration
Air-water heat exchanger integrated into the rear door of a standard server rack
Heat Rejection
Can be configured so that no heat is released to the installation area — room-neutral operation
Rack Widths
600 mm and 800 mm rack door variants
Headroom Requirement
600 mm racks: 0.25 m at 10 kW, 0.5 m at 20 kW, 0.75 m at 30 kW. 800 mm racks: 0.2 m at 10 kW, 0.4 m at 20 kW, 0.6 m at 30 kW, 0.8 m at 40 kW, 1.0 m at 50 kW
Primary Loop
Facility chilled water or a secondary loop fed from a CDU; glycol-capable
Redundancy
Dual-loop active variants for N+1 supply; passive variant has no moving parts or electrical connection
Active Variant
Water-cooled active rack door with internal fans to drive airflow through the coil at higher density
Mounting
Replaces the standard rear door — no additional floor space and no additional ceiling headroom
Service Access
Door-mounted coil swings with the rack door for standard rear access
Role vs CRAH
Removes heat at the rack before it reaches the room, allowing CRAH capacity and fan energy to be reduced
Condensate
Drain provision for condensation management when supply water is below room dew point
Compatibility
Fits standard and OEM 42U/47U/48U/52U server racks
Typical Duty
Air-cooled AI and HPC racks in the 20-50 kW band, or as a bridge before full direct-to-chip liquid cooling
Overview
A rear door heat exchanger is the lowest-friction way to move a rack from air cooling into liquid cooling. The coil is mounted in the rear door of the rack itself, so no floor space, no ceiling headroom and no rack relocation is required — the door is simply replaced.
The Liebert DCD cools up to 50 kW per rack by passing the server exhaust air across an air-water coil before it leaves the cabinet. Configured for room-neutral operation, the heat goes into the water loop rather than the white space, which lets operators reduce CRAH capacity and the associated fan energy.
Headroom is the one real planning constraint, and it scales with density: a 600 mm rack at 30 kW needs 0.75 m of clearance above the rack, while an 800 mm rack at 50 kW needs 1.0 m. Passive doors have no electrical connection and no moving parts; active variants add fans for higher density or higher supply water temperatures.
Key Benefits
Up to 50 kW per rack without a rack rebuild. No added floor or ceiling footprint — the coil is the door. Room-neutral heat rejection reduces CRAH load and fan energy. Passive variant has no moving parts. 600 mm and 800 mm widths cover standard and OEM racks.
Applications
AI and HPC racks in the 20-50 kW band; retrofit of existing air-cooled halls; colocation density upgrades; hybrid deployments bridging air cooling to direct-to-chip; rooms with constrained floor space.
Request a Quote — VERTIV LIEBERT DCD REAR DOOR HEAT EXCHANGER — UP TO 50 KW PER RACK
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