by hbell » Sun Jan 30, 2011 11:26 am
kW of power draw of IT equipment is equal to the heat produced from the equipment, so in your example the heat load is 15 - 25 kW of heat.
kW x .283 = T of cooling, or 1T = 3.53 kW of cooling.
So, 15 - 25 kw of heat load is about 4.24 - 7.07 T of cooling.
Some data center cooling systems are now beginning to list their capacities in terms of kW for the very reason you give.
Even ASHRAE, the industry organization which sets the most widely accepted guidelines for data center cooling, uses kW often to define cooling capacities.
I believe you will find their website useful.