DATA MANAGEMENT


rainwater. Bleed recovery systems recover around 60-70% of the bleed water to reuse as make-up water, while also collecting rain. In the 8m3/hr recycling system that we use, if 65% of the cooling tower bleed off is recovered, up to £120,000 can be saved every year, quickly recouping the £70,000 installation costs. There are also air-cooled options, but these are commonly only used for smaller data centres as they don’t have the capacity to deal with high demands and end-up using vast amounts of energy.


Closed-loop savings


Whatever cooling system is used, there are further savings to be made in the way water is treated within the system. Despite the high-tech nature of the data centre, the industry in charge of water management and treatment, until recent years, remained decidedly low tech, relying on sampling, corrosion coupons and long-winded laboratory analysis, which often missed the root cause of potential issues. Sampling does not successfully detect Dissolve Oxygen (DO), which creates the right environment for bacterial proliferation, leading to system fouling, corrosion, leaks and potential breakdown.


The latest innovations in water monitoring and treatment have allowed data centre managers to take a more holistic approach to cooling that keeps HVAC running efficiently and reduces the risk of costly downtime.


Optimise efficiency


Remote water monitoring technology available 24/7 is now becoming a more popular choice, recognised in the latest BSRIA guide relating to water treatment – BG50/2021. Hevasure’s system is comprehensive, taking live readings on a wide range of parameters, including temperature, pressure, pH and inhibitor levels, in order to provide data centre managers with a true and instantaneous picture of conditions within the closed circuit. Critically, this system also effectively monitors dissolved oxygen DO levels. Changes in ‘safe’ levels are detected before issues take- hold, providing a preventative solution that dramatically reduces the risk of costly breakdowns.


Does the approach save water?


By identifying the potential conditions for corrosion before it becomes a problem, the risk of leaks is dramatically reduced. Where sampling alone is relied on, small leaks can often go unchecked for periods of time, leading to issues with efficiency and water wastage. In addition, without real-time monitoring, flushing with vast volumes of water is more commonly used as a precautionary measure. As mentioned, the results of a sample can take days, if not weeks to return, by which time conditions may have changed, meaning flushing is often used when it is not needed. After routine maintenance, for example, a sample would be taken to check the inevitable disruption in system conditions. With real-time monitoring, this disruption would be recognised, but if conditions returned to safe levels quickly, as is often the case in a well-managed system, no further action would be required. The results of the sample taken at a single point in time would no doubt cause concern and lead to flushing.


Duty to save


The developed world is using water at an excessive rate, with the latest statistics from the United Nations stating that, in industrialised nations, industry consumes 80% of water available for human consumption. At the time of writing, we are coming out of an unprecedented heat wave, and have been through many months of reduced rainfall. Even the traditionally ‘wet’ UK, may need to put water saving higher up the agenda. By 2025, it is predicted that half the world’s population will live in ‘water-stressed’ locations. Ultimately, we need water more than we need data, so if the human race is to continue at its current pace of technological reliance and evolution we must ensure we develop ways to do this that reduce the strain on one of our most essential resources.


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IN HOT WATER Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER SEPTEMBER 2022 27


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