Differential temperature based pressure sensing and airflow control

A system for controlling airflow in a datacenter, the datacenter comprising a hot environment, a cold environment adjacent to the hot environment, a containment element separating the cold environment from the hot environment, a cold air outlet providing a flow of air to the cold environment, and heat-generating electronic devices positioned between the hot environment and the cold environment and configured to take in cold air from the cold environment and exhaust hot air to the hot environment, the system comprising:

• a conduit positioned at the containment element and in fluid communication with the cold environment and the hot environment, wherein the conduit has a first opening that opens to the cold environment and a second opening that opens to the hot environment and wherein the conduit has an internal dimension that is from 1/96 to ¼ of a length of the conduit;
• an elongate averaging temperature sensor having a first end and a second end, wherein the elongate averaging temperature sensor extends from the first end to the second end, wherein the first end is disposed proximate to the first opening, wherein the second end is disposed proximate to the second opening, and wherein the elongate averaging temperature sensor generates an average temperature signal indicative of an average temperature of a flow of air flowing through the conduit;
• and
• a controller comprising at least one processor and tangible memory containing non-transitory instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to:
• determine, based on the average temperature signal, a direction of the flow of air flowing in the conduit;
• and
• control a rate of airflow provided to the cold environment via the cold air outlet based on the average temperature signal.