• • • EDITOR'S CHOICE • • •
FROM PATCHWORK TO PRIORITY: WHY RETROFIT IS REDEFINGING
DATA CENTRE GROWTH Global demand for data is exploding. Fuelled by AI, edge computing, cloud adoption and digital transformation, the world’s appetite for processing power has never been higher By Steve Clifford, Director of Data Centres, EMCOR UK
et the infrastructure required to meet this need, data centres, is hitting hard limits. Despite the rise of hyperscale developments, capacity shortfalls are becoming routine. In Europe alone, 2023 saw take-up of 601 MW of capacity compared to just 561 MW in new supply, only the second time in five years that demand outstripped delivery. And the trend is worsening. In Q1 2025, just 31 MW of new supply came online across Europe’s core markets, marking the slowest expansion since 2022. Vacancy rates, already low, are continuing to fall, with industry commentators warning of a significant space shortage by the end of the year.
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Meanwhile, operators are contending with longer lead times, complex planning requirements, and mounting competition for grid capacity. Research from the Uptime Institute highlights this anxiety, with 36 per cent of operators citing access to power as one of their top concerns. The International Energy Agency predicts data centre electricity consumption will more than double by 2026, yet power availability is already stretched in many key locations.
Add to this the surging global investment in AI infrastructure (over US $350 billion projected for
2025), and it’s clear the sector is under pressure to expand, but has fewer and fewer ways to do so quickly or sustainably.
Against this backdrop, one solution is rising to the top of the agenda: retrofit.
The forces behind the
retrofit shift Traditionally seen as a tactical fix, retrofitting is now emerging as a core component of long-term data centre growth strategies. Where once it was a fallback, today it is a fast, cost-effective and environmentally sound alternative to new build. In a recent industry survey, 66 per cent of data centre operators said they planned to retrofit at least a quarter of their estates in the next five years. The shift is being driven by a convergence of market forces:
• Power constraints: In many urban centres, securing a new grid connection can take multiple years. Retrofitting existing sites with already-established power supply is a way to sidestep this bottleneck.
• Planning delays: New builds face complex permitting and regulatory hurdles. Retrofitting
can often proceed with fewer dependencies and less red tape.
• Cost pressures: Data centre construction costs are escalating, with UPS, generators and battery systems seeing price increases year-on-year. Retrofitting can reduce capital expenditure by up to 40 per cent compared to greenfield builds. • Ageing assets: Many first-generation facilities are approaching end-of-life stages for key plants. With maintenance costs and failure risks rising, retrofit becomes a practical and timely intervention.
• Sustainability mandates: Operators are under growing pressure to reduce embodied carbon. Reusing existing infrastructure significantly lowers environmental impact compared to starting from scratch, and aligns with both corporate ESG targets and regulatory trajectories.
For those willing to plan smartly, retrofit offers a faster route to capacity, a better path to carbon reduction, and a more agile response to market volatility.
What retrofit involves Retrofitting a data centre isn’t just about replacing old kit or plugging operational gaps. Done right, it’s a comprehensive strategy to modernise ageing infrastructure, unlock new performance thresholds, and accommodate future technologies without disrupting core services.
Projects often include:
• Mechanical and electrical system upgrades – including intelligent UPS, modular switchgear and resilient cooling.
• Reconfiguration of white and grey space – to increase rack densities and improve airflow management.
• Integration of smart energy solutions – such as DC power systems, containment solutions and environmental sensors.
• Installation of additional backup systems – for enhanced resilience and fault tolerance. • Live operational delivery – managing works in phases to avoid downtime.
Retrofits are typically preceded by rigorous condition assessments, lifecycle audits and energy modelling. These help define what’s feasible within the existing footprint, what’s needed to support future workloads, and how best to manage risk during the upgrade process.
42 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • OCTOBER 2025
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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