US Patent 11985803 Thermal management for container-based data centers

Systems and methods for managing airflow for cooling computing devices (e.g., in a data center) are disclosed. To prevent damage to computing devices after power outages in low temperatures, a subset of the computing devices may be preheated, started, and operated in an exhaust air recirculation mode to raise the temperatures of the other computing devices. Preheating may for example use heaters or warm air temporarily diverted from external sources such as nearby buildings. Thermal mass (e.g., phase change material) may be positioned near the computing devices to capture heat that is later released in the event of a dramatic temperature drop such a cold weather power outage.