CASE STUDIES Having worked on ot her data centre proj ojects fo r
the financial giant, RED Engineering was familiar with the mission critical nature of the site. T he major considerations centred on:
■ Build quality ■ Ability to test
■ Use of appropriate technology to take
advantage of advances in energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions ■ In-built resilience ■ Fast re-start
Testing
Aermec’s manufacturing facilities and test labs near Verona, Italy, showcase build capabilities and t he quality of products. The on-site test facilities a re the largest and most extensive in Europe and c onfirm Aermec’s capabilities to perform rigorous testing.
The test labs have Eurovent, AHRI, MCS and CUL certifications and t hey can simulate operatin g conditions ranging from -20°C to +55°C. In a ddition to a purpose-built data hall simulator, facilities include testing for heat pumps, chillers, a ir handling units, indirect evaporative coolers and dry coolers.
The labs extend to 2MW cooling capacity per single unit and specific labs within the complex cater for extreme temperature testing, ventilation and heat exchange measurements, noise level verification and vibration testing.
“Aermec’s testing capabilities were a big plus; they offered one of the most comprehensive testing facilities in Europe and enabled the chiller performance to be robustly tested to satisfy the site requirements,” commented Alex Nock, associate at RED Engineering.
Six highly efficient 1.366MW Aermec NSM free cooling chillers with screw compressors, using R134a refrigerant were specified to provide a robust mechanical cooling solution. The free cooling route offered a greener and more eco- responsible solution that would help boost the data centre’s green credentials.
The criticality of the site and its exacting
r equirements required some modifications to the build specifications.
T hese included electronic expansion valves replacing mechanical expansion valves and the microchannel coils being replaced with copper/ aluminium coils.
The specifications of Aermec’s chillers include t win-headed pumps but these were changed to s ingle run and stand-by pumps for resilience, and independent refrigeration circuits were also added t o the design specifications for each chiller. “As a manufacturer, we have the flexibility to make modifications and provide a more customised solution for our customers, who can c arry out witness tests to ensure their required performance levels are met,” said Paul Lawrence, d irector at Aermec UK.
Fast re-start
Power outages are every data centre’s nightmare. In the event of a power loss, bringing a chiller b ack online rapidly is essential for operations in mission critical data centre environments.
T he data centre’s facilities manager explained: “Each minute of downtime could cost millions of pounds and the data can cook in 20 minutes.” M r Lawrence added: “Chillers can take as long as 15 or 20 minutes to re-start. Aermec’s chillers have been designed to achieve re-sta rt in two an d a half minutes and can achieve a 5°C temperature differential in less than five minutes.”
Noise rating The data centre is located adjacent to a
residential area. Given the location, the chillers were designed to a very low noise rating at full load.
Mr Nock said: “Because of the location,
acoustics were just as important as maximising energy efficiencies and satisfying sustainability criteria.
Aermec’s free cooling chillers addressed the customer’s environmental concerns, reliability,
p erformance and resilience, but they also offered the best acoustic performance.”
Each chiller took 12 weeks to design, build and factory test. Each unit measures 13 metres and w eighs 11 tonnes.
They were delivered and installed in a phased approach, using temporary chillers for support to ensure no disruption to the live site. Despite the size, each chiller was craned into position as a whole unit.
Three chillers are required to run the data c entre, but running four is more economical and maximises the benefits of free cooling. The CHW temperature is 13°C/19°C in normal mode and 17°C/23°C in high temperature mode to maximise f ree cooling.
Savings
The chillers have saved £50,000 per month – 1,124,028.90 kWh (data collected from Septembe r 2 016-January 2017).
During the three months of November 2016- January 2017, 100% free cooling was achieved, with no compressors running.
The chillers have contributed to a reduction in the data centre’s PUE, which is down from 1.7 to 1.4.
I t is anticipated that the data centre’s full year running figures will meet the data centre’s expectations for energy saving and carbon reduction.
“Companies claim their kit can do more than it can. In our experience, the chillers more than live up to Aermec’s claims and provide the added benefit of being able to do 10% more,” said the facilities manager.
Collaborative working played a key role in achieving the successful outcome.
Mr Lawrence concluded: “Our distributor AEUK played a major part in helping to design the specifications. And by working in close collaboration with all parties, Aermec and AEUK engineered a solution that met the customer’s high expectations.”
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