Products in Action

For further information on products and services visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter the appropriate online enquiry number

Pipe insulation for stunning restoration

Kingspan Kooltherm Pipe Insulation has been used to insulate pipework distributing ancient thermal spring water around a stunningly refurbished Georgian spa hotel in Buxton.

The Crescent, Natural Baths and Pump Room were constructed during the 18th and 19th Centuries. The historic buildings have now been restored as part of a £70m project by Buxton Crescent Ltd.

The regeneration project includes a thermal natural mineral water spa, visitor attraction (managed by the Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust), retail units and an 81-bedroom luxury spa hotel to be operated by ENSANA.

The Crescent building’s Grade 1 listed status, its poor state of repair, and close location to the town’s historic springs presented significant challenges to the project team, which included Vinci Construction UK and Imtech. While the focus has been on sensitive restoration, the building services specification also makes use of modern technologies which will make the building both comfortable and cost efficient to run. As part of this approach, Kingspan Kooltherm Pipe Insulation was installed on concealed pipework throughout the buildings.

Kingspan Kooltherm Pipe Insulation is one of the most thermally efficient pipework insulation materials on the market today, with an aged thermal conductivity as low as 0.025 W/mK (at 10 °C). This performance allowed pipework, including that transporting the naturally heated thermal water, to be effectively insulated with the thinnest possible thickness of insulation. This was a key requirement for the project. ONLINE ENQUIRY 101

Electric vehicle charging in Portsmouth

Portsmouth International Port now has the capability to power electric vehicles at a green and cost-effective rate thanks to battery manufacturer, GS Yuasa. Engineers have installed the company’s lead acid and lithium-ion batteries into a dual chemical battery system. Technicians installed specialist racking, custom built equipment, 240 Yuasa ENL batteries and a lithium-ion energy storage cabinet into a containerised 20-foot weatherproof shelter located at the front of the port’s freight entrance. The battery system which is being piloted at the port is able to supply 100kW of power. It will provide power for electric vehicle charging and localised grid support, allowing electric vehicles to be fast charged during the day from electricity supplied overnight at a lower tariff. Consequently, it will save time and money while contributing to the crucial environmental needs.

The lead acid batteries are manufactured at GS Yuasa’s Ebbw Vale factory. The system’s lithium batteries come from Japan. ONLINE ENQUIRY 104

Indoor comfort for new football stadium

Boston United Football Club’s new Jakemans Community Stadium west stand has been equipped with a high efficiency air conditioning system by Toshiba.

The Super Heat Recovery Multi (SHRM-e) variable refrigerant flow (VRF) solution, installed by Formost Air Conditioning Ltd, will provide indoor comfort for fans and visitors as part of the brand new ground and stadium development.

Facilities include a banqueting room, lounge, boardroom, community hub and four hospitality suites, all air conditioned to the highest standards with a combination of Toshiba SHRM-e systems linked to the company’s VN heat recovery fresh air ventilation units.

The VN systems harness energy from exhaust air to pre-condition incoming fresh air, integrating with the heat recovery VRF system to create a total building solution. Use of the VN units reduces the cooling and heating load and the overall size of the air conditioning system required, saving energy and reducing capital costs. “The aim is to give our fans the best ground we can,” said David Newton, Boston United chairman. “Providing a comfortable indoor climate for visitors and their guests is a key part of the experience.” The Pilgrims’ new stadium is being built to Football League standards with increased capacity of over 5,000. It will provide a range of community, sports, education and training programs, plus in due course a sports hall and an all-weather 3G pitch for community use.

“We positioned the outdoor condensing units installed at either end of the new stadium, with plenty of space for connections and access,” said Simon Murphy, who headed the installation for Formost Air Conditioning Ltd.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 102

Sports clubs warm up with water heaters

Ariston’s electric water heaters offer sports club owners and gym managers a means of providing cost effective and energy efficient hot water throughout their premises. The company’s Velis Evo and Pro1 Eco units ensure sports teams or gym goers can enjoy a comfortable post-match or post-workout shower, thanks to fast reheat times and large storage capacities. Furthermore, the water heaters benefit from Ariston’s renowned anti-legionella function, which automatically increases the water temperature up to 65°C once a month, to eliminate the risk of legionella bacteria developing.

The super-slim Velis Evo electric water heater from Ariston features a versatile, ultraslim (27cm deep) design, while its advanced twin tank technology ensures optimum performance. With a choice of 45 or 80-litre models available, units offer up to 16 per cent more hot water availability compared to an equivalent capacity standard electric water heater. In addition, superbly fast reheat times of 50 minutes ensure sports teams won’t have to endure a cold post-match shower.

Similarly, Ariston’s Pro1 Eco electric storage water heaters have capacities of 50, 80 and 100 litres. They include a display that allows for easy operation, alongside simple temperature setting and control for advanced performance – lending themselves perfectly to light commercial environments and public washrooms with high hot water demand. ONLINE ENQUIRY 103

Data Centre Management

For further information on Keysource visitwww.eibi.co.uk/enquiriesand enter ENQUIRY No. 133

Ted Pulfer is enterprise and end user consultant at Keysource

Going to a new level

Ted Pulfer takes a look at some of the improvements data centre operators can take to ensure that their facilities begin to move forward with efficiency improvements

With IOT, AI, 5G enabled networks, and other data dependent technology coming at us thick and fast, it is clear that processing and storage will be in higher demand. With that will come an increase in energy consumption. Operators can no longer expect manufacturers to create more powerful hardware in half the footprint at smaller costs. Rather, operators will need to find different ways to improve commercial efficiencies and tackle sustainability Data centre operators concerns. are going to have to find

A recent survey by the Uptime different ways to tackle sustainability concerns Institute that reported an industry average power usage effectiveness (PUE) for 2019 among respondents in the limelight for a few years and water. So, based on the specific was 1.67, suggesting that though the specific technology method of production, numbers improvements in data centre facility used for each location is a ‘horses associated with water and energy energy efficiency have flattened for courses’ approach, DX cooling, consumption may be significantly out and even deteriorated slightly although more efficient than it used higher than what is being claimed by over the past two years. The survey to be, is no longer appropriate for the larger (and of course smaller) data suggests that making small low-cost most larger facilities. For the most centres. amendments and optimisation part, data centres still operate at an In addition, the use of all-air within certain infrastructure assets average density of less than 10kW systems results in reduced energy can in some cases achieve energy per rack so air is still quite relevant. consumption, but increases the savings of up to 20-30 per cent. water usage on-site and that’s

This is one the reasons that we Enormous water consumption without factoring in the evaporative launched EOS (Energy Optimisation There are still other sustainability loss associated with storing water Service), a service designed to help factors that need to be considered in large reservoirs, or water usage at companies optimise the energy and one is the enormous water the power plant which on a 10MW efficiency of their data centres, consumption in cooling systems and facility increases the water usage saving money and reducing carbon in power generation. In simple terms effectiveness (WUE) dramatically. emissions. The service includes a water is required to generate power The increase may reach up to +9,000 dedicated piece highlighting our and electricity is used to produce per cent reaching the 1,180,000m3/ true understanding of the facility in question, its utilisation and required operation along with an assessment of the power and cooling infrastructure. Opportunities to optimise are then identified along with their savings and return periods in order to distinguish recommendations which suit the lifecycle of the facility and the IT within it.

To mitigate some of the increased power needs, there has been a focus on cooling upgrades. Compressorbased cooling has all but been eradicated from new large data centre builds due to inefficient transfer of heat. Cooling has been yr for a data centre in London. To put this into perspective, this amount of water is equal to the total annual potable water needs of all Cambridge’s resident population.

Keysource is working with data centres of all sizes to focus on the wider environmental issues. These are businesses quietly doing their part for the health of the planet and consequently for the financial health of the organisation, I’ll reiterate, most savings are centred around cooling optimisation.

While AI, AR and machine learning can be used to optimise data centre efficiency, we are not yet at mass adoption and there is certainly an opportunity now to make efficiency gains in the supporting infrastructure.

However, that said, it is worth noting one great example of Machine Learning. In the US the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Centre (NERSC) have created active communications between their Cori supercomputer’s internal blower fans and the cooling towers and pumps of the traditional cooling plant. The Cray XC Dynamic Fan Speed Control feature automatically varies the cabinet blower fan speeds based on processor temperatures. This new ODA link method provides continuous feedback, which enables the Cray system and building controls to shift the load ratio between the blower fans and the cooling water loop depending on outdoor environmental conditions. Widespread adoption, coupled with the right-sized and appropriate cooling technology and an efficient building to house the equipment, can get the industry to a point of prime efficiency.

When Innovate UK recently undertook a building performance evaluation (BPE) review it highlighted that most buildings were significantly underperforming against expectations. In the nondomestic sector, average total carbon emissions were 3.8 times higher than the average design estimate. Perhaps a BPE study for critical facilities would be valuable to helping the UK meet its 2050 net zero target and could help underpin an accurate energy certificate to further incentivise businesses to look at a sustainable approach? 

Data Centre Management

For further information on Mitsubishi Electric visitwww.eibi.co.uk/enquiriesand enter ENQUIRY No. 132

James Smurthwaite is business development manager at Mitsubishi Electric

Keep up with demand

James Smurthwaite examines how data centre owners are having to come to terms with surging demand and meeting Climate Change Agreements

Data centres and IT server rooms are the backbone of almost every sector in the UK. This is especially true in 2020, with millions of homeworking employees relying on servers and databases around the country to continue to work collaboratively with colleagues and clients. Computing is everywhere - from retailers harnessing the power of data to understand shoppers’ online and instore preferences, a manufacturing company using software to analyse product lines and improve overall quality, or a typically office-based company which needs its computers to link with its global connections.

But keeping these systems running, and crucially, making sure they stay cool 24/7 and ensuring they operate at full capacity requires a lot of energy – making data centres and IT rooms very energy-intensive spaces. TechUK, the membership organisation for technology businesses in the UK, estimates that data centres consume 2.89TWh of power per year.

As the use of data and IT continues to grow, dependence on data centres will continue to increase accordingly.

As it stands, there are 5.9m2 of data centre space globally, with another 400,000m2 under construction. Many of these ‘data centres’ will be little more than a room in an office building, rather than a massive computing ‘shed’ but regardless of size, to keep them running reliably, hardware must be kept cool – and this requires energy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also greatly exacerbated this demand. Working from home has led to a significant surge in the need for data storage and processing, and many companies have already outsourced IT services and cloud-based systems as a more efficient way to manage IT infrastructure.

The data centre sector already has a Climate Change Agreement (CCA), a negotiated agreement with the government that is offered to energy-intensive industries. In return for a reduction in or exclusion from paying some carbon-related taxes, participants commit to energy efficiency targets which are specific to that industry.

The government announced earlier this year that the current agreements in place would be extended until 2025, meaning that data centres will continue to have their carbon emissions and energy use measured against agreed targets for the next five years.

The potential annual savings in these carbon-related taxes can run to many thousands of pounds for data centres, meaning it is also cost effective for businesses to commit to reducing carbon emissions.

These cost savings are even more significant when you consider that data centres in the UK also face higher energy costs than many other parts of the world.

Commitment to efficiency It’s fair to say that UK data centres have already shown firm commitments to energy efficiency and sustainability. Now, it’s important to look at what else can be done, particularly in the building services arena. One of the areas with significant potential savings is the reuse of heat.

By nature, data centres and IT rooms produce large amounts of heat as a by-product. This heat is often simply expelled from the building, but there is technology already available which can make heat reuse a highly cost-effective option.

Heat recovery captures heat rejected from a cooling system and applies this to other areas of building services such as space or water heating, making it possible to save large amounts of energy while reducing long-term operational costs.

Clearly, in a building or room which ejects large amounts of heat, the ability to use that energy elsewhere has enormous potential.

First, the heat extracted from areas that require cooling, such as where IT hardware is operating, can be provided to other occupied spaces, such as offices, where occupants need comfort heating. It can also boost the temperature of hot water to reduce the load on boilers providing hot water to a building.

Beyond individual buildings, recovered heat from data centres can also potentially be used more widely if we use district heating networks. Through these networks, waste heat is delivered to other nearby buildings, and they are already playing an important role for data centres in Scandinavia. There, data centres are being built specifically so waste heat can be fed into the local district heating network, and the Swedish government has reduced taxes for data centres to encourage their use. Stockholm in particular is a pioneer in the use of waste heat, with more than 30 data centres already located there, which feed their waste heat into the 2,800km district heating network.

This is a real area of opportunity for the government in the UK to encourage data centres to increase their energy efficiency, by rewarding those data centre owners and operators that offer the ability to recover wasted heat.

For those looking to move away from gas boilers altogether, and make use of clean electricity, for example, there are also chiller solutions which offer simultaneous heating. This approach removes the need for a gas connection all together.

It is also possible to use a dedicated heat recovery heat pump. A water-source heat pump uses the condensed water or return chiller water as its energy source. It is an excellent approach for large water-cooled chiller applications that improves the performance of large-capacity chillers and dedicated plant – enhancing the ROI of capital expenditure and improving longterm performance. 

Data Centre Management

For further information on products and services visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter the appropriate online enquiry number

Modular UPS offers data centre operators reduced life-time costs

Kohler Uninterruptible Power Ltd has launched its PowerWAVE MF1500 DPA. Exceptionally resilient, flexible and scalable to 6MW, the modular new UPS is claimed to offer best-in-market VFI mode energy efficiency.

The new addition to the KUP product line redefines lifetime cost for data centres and other high-density applications, without compromising on reliability.

Designed with a clear goal in mind, to define that reliability does not require excess, and high power can exist alongside efficient use of energy, the MF1500 DPA combines proven Decentralised Parallel Architecture (DPA) technology with the latest advances in components and software.

DPA products contain all the essential components of a UPS within each module, including the static switch, allowing independent operation. Its innovative slide-in, cable free module design can be hotswapped without affecting the rest of the system, easing maintenance, and reducing system repair times to minutes. It also dramatically increases availability allowing a ‘payas-you-grow’ approach and delivers exceptional MTTR.

Protection is achieved with 97.4 per cent VFI energy efficiency, reducing environmental impact, optimising PUE measures and delivering significant financial savings in energy and cooling costs. In addition, the advanced design of the MF1500 DPA maximises the life of consumables such as fans and capacitors, with replacement required only once in a 15-year period.

Customers can opt for a 1,000kW

or 1,500kW frame size and 250kW modules helping to right-size for the initial load with the ability to scale up or down depending on future requirements paralleling units to achieve 6MW. For additional flexibility and resilience, each DPA module can be fed from either an independent or common battery system. Through its scalability, this product is well positioned to support a wide range of data centres.

David Renton, managing director for Kohler Uninterruptible Power, comments: “To give an example of the likely cost saving, in a 1.5 MW installation, over 10 years the 0.7 per cent extra efficiency of the MF1500 DPA versus a competitor at 96.7 per cent can save over £150,000 in electrical and cooling costs – a hugely significant saving.”

ONLINE ENQUIRY 148

Data Centre Management

For further information on Zizo visitwww.eibi.co.uk/enquiriesand enter ENQUIRY No. 144

Peter Ruffley is CEO at Zizo

AI can make the difference

Peter Ruffley discusses how we can best use artificial intelligence and what role it can have within the data centre, particularly when it comes to reducing the amount of energy consumed

At present, the IT industry is doing itself no favours With the implementation of AI data can be examined quickly and thoroughly by promising the earth with emerging technologies, without having the ability to fully deliver them. This is especially true with AI. If there is a clear business need and an outcome in mind then AI can be the right tool. But it won’t do everything for you – the bulk of the work still has to be done somewhere, either in the machine learning or data preparation phase.

With IoT, many organisations are chasing the mythical concept of ‘let’s have every device under management’. But why? What’s the real benefit of doing that? All they are doing is creating an overwhelming amount of lowvalue data. They are expecting data warehouses to store a massive hardware or whether it’s reducing is essential to drive growth and constantly searching for the value amount of data. If a business keeps the cost to run them through increase cost-savings. Can the hidden within low-value data that is data from a device that shows it improved cooling or heat exchange industry move the conversation being produced by IoT, smartphone pinged every 30 seconds rather than systems. But data centre providers on from being purely technical apps and at the edge. As the global a minute, then that’s just keeping have to be able to combine these and around how much power and costs of energy rise, and the numbers data for the sake of it. There’s no infrastructure elements with a kilowatts are being used to how is of HPC clusters powering AI to drive strategy there. The ‘everyone store deeper understanding of business this helping our social corporate our next generation technologies everything’ mentality needs to processes. This is something very responsibility/our green credentials? increase, new technologies have to change. few providers, as well as Managed be found that reduce the amount of

The sheer amount of data Service Providers (MSPs) and Cloud Completely air cooled energy consumed and lower the cost often needed to analyse can be Service Providers (CSPs) are currently There are some fascinating of running the data centre, beyond difficult to digest, however, with doing. It’s great to have the kit and innovations already happening, standard air cooling. the implementation of AI, the use submerged cooling systems and where lessons can be learnt. In It’s great to see people thinking data can be examined quickly advanced power mechanisms but Scandinavia for example, there outside of the box on this, with and thoroughly. Particularly into what does that give the customer? are those who are building carbon submerged HPC systems and full, energy assets, data can be collated How can providers help customers neutral data centres, which are naturally aerated data centres, but and analysed to help businesses understand what more can be done completely air cooled, with the more will have to be done (and fast) become more efficient than before with their data systems? How do use of sustainable power cooling to meet up with global data growth. by identifying savings opportunities providers differentiate themselves through solar. The cooling also AI is opening new opportunities and opportunities for optimisation. and how can they say they harness comes through the building by for various industries to tap into By having insight into the these new technologies to do basically opening the windows. unmapped data and connect it management of energy, predictions something different? There are also water-cooled data to energy resources, providing can be made about energy spikes in Sustainability is riding high centres out there under the ocean. real opportunities to address the order to suggest when things can be on the business agenda and is We saw a lot of organisations challenges of the environment. turned on and off. By using energy something providers need to take and data centres jump in head first The appetite for this technology at an optimal level, businesses can into consideration. How can the with the explosion of big data and is undoubtedly there but for it to contribute to better preservation infrastructure needed for emerging not come out with any tangible be able to be deployed at scale and of energy and efficient application technologies work better? Perhaps results – we could be on the road to for enterprises to see real value, without creating waste. it’s with sharing data between the seeing history repeat itself. If we’re reductions and new business

Additionally, solutions to how industry and working together to not careful, AI could just become opportunities from it, data centres to improve the performance of analyse it. By applying AI to the another IT bubble. need to move the conversation on, large-scale application systems energy sector, data can be collated There is still time to turn things work together and individually are being created, whether that’s and progressed to make efficient around. As we move into a world of utilise AI in the best way possible or by getting better processes, better and informed decisions, which ever-increasing data volumes, we are risk losing out to the competition. 