PIPED SERVICES


Streamlining data centre cooling and fire protection systems


Modern data centres demand advanced pipework systems for effective cooling and fire protection. Here Victaulic explains how a single-source approach simplifies procurement and integration, while innovative solutions help accelerate delivery, reduce risk, and create flexible, future- ready designs that adapt to the rapidly evolving needs of high- performance data environments


T


he rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and cryptocurrency is driving unprecedented processing demands, leading to heat levels from high density computing


hardware that traditional air conditioning alone can no longer manage. With server racks emitting such intense heat, cooling water must be delivered directly into the racks to maintain safe operating temperatures. At the same time, the high- value equipment within these racks – along with the critical data and services they support – must be protected from fire risks, requiring swift and effective suppression systems to prevent damage and disruption. As a result, modern data centres require


increasingly complex pipework systems to support both cooling and fire protection. Designing and constructing these systems for maximum effectiveness and efficiency is essential, and a single-source approach can help streamline procurement while ensuring seamless integration. Embracing innovative solutions further accelerates project timelines, reduces risk, and enables flexible, future-proof designs that can adapt to evolving data centre needs.


Accelerating project timelines


The choice of pipe joining method plays a crucial role in installation speed. Besides eliminating the emissions and hazardous fumes


associated with welding, grooved mechanical pipe joining dramatically reduces installation time. With this method, pipes are cut to length, grooved, and joined using a coupling with a gasket secured by just two bolts. It takes a fraction of the time compared to welding and any on-site adjustments can be made easily, avoiding costly delays. The simplicity of this system means that installation crews can be trained quickly, overcoming Europe’s shortfall of approximately 300,000 welders, and since data centres often require kilometres of pipework, the cumulative time savings can be significant, even with smaller teams. Grooved mechanical systems are already the global standard for fire protection, but Victaulic continues to innovate to further speed up installation. It’s solutions a braided hose design that can be fitted up to 10 times faster than traditional threaded black pipe armovers by just a single installer. “Time is money, especially in the data centre industry,” explains Graeme Leonard, EMEA division manager for fire protection at Victaulic. “Companies invest in new facilities because they already have clients lined up, so they need them operational as soon as possible. The faster a data centre goes live, the sooner its owners can start getting a return on investment.”


Facilitating global standardisation


As data centre construction expands beyond traditional hubs like London, Paris, Frankfurt,


and Amsterdam, operators must navigate varying regulations, labour standards, and supply chain constraints across different regions. For global data centre owners managing multiple projects simultaneously, standardisation is essential to ensuring efficiency, quality, and consistency, while minimising risk and accelerating delivery. “When you’re overseeing hundreds of data centre projects worldwide, a standardised approach is crucial to reducing complexity and keeping timelines on track,” says Sebastian Matijasevich, European sales director at


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