Availability
The cooling system operates continuously. It is essential that the permissible operating conditions for the IT equipment are maintained at all times – including during maintenance, load changes and in the event of a fault.
Refrigeration technology for
Data centres
Planning, plant construction and service all from a single source
We build the cooling system for your data centre
KSI Kältetechnik builds central cooling systems for data centres – in the megawatt range, using natural refrigerants, with a redundant design and built for continuous operation. From the initial design through to system construction and maintenance, with a 24/7 on-call service.
We’ll take care of the Construction of the new cooling plant, the next phase of development during operation and the energy-efficient refurbishment existing systems. At our Munich site, we refurbished the central cooling system of a data centre without taking the IT infrastructure offline.
The decisions that shape operations throughout the plant’s entire service life are made early on: during the chilled water temperature, at the Natural cooling concept, in which Redundancy structure and at the Refrigerant. That’s why we prefer to be involved right from the concept phase.
Four requirements
The criteria by which we assess every investment
Redundancy
It only comes into being when it is integrated throughout the system: across the chillers, pumps, hydraulics and control systems. A second chiller is of little use if the distribution system is designed as a single-loop system.
Efficiency
The proportion of total electricity consumption accounted for by cooling is becoming a factor that needs to be substantiated. The chilled water temperature and the free cooling concept are key factors in determining the figures a site can actually achieve.
Extensibility
Data centres are expanded in stages. The basic infrastructure comprising power generation, hydraulics and control systems should be capable of accommodating further stages without the need to disrupt ongoing operations.
What we are committed to
What we build: refrigeration, air conditioning and control systems as a single integrated system
In tenders, ‘data centre air conditioning’ and ‘data centre cooling’ are often mentioned in the same breath. For planning purposes, it is worth distinguishing between the two: the cooling system provides cold water, whilst the air conditioning system distributes this cold air to the hardware. Both aspects must be coordinated.
Centralised cooling system with a chilled water network
Chillers, recoolers, pumps and hydraulics are designed as a single system, with defined load zones and a central control system. From this scale onwards, it is the system structure that determines energy consumption, rather than the choice of equipment.
Free cooling and a gradual transition
When outside temperatures are low, the outside air draws heat away, and the compressor runs less frequently or stops altogether. A control system that simply switches between two operating modes leaves the intermediate range unused – a smooth transition in line with the current IT load is more appropriate.
Heat recovery
The heat that is dissipated can be utilised rather than being completely released into the environment. This requires a heat sink and a suitable temperature level – both of which must be taken into account at an early stage of the design process.
Natural refrigerants
Propane (R290) has established itself in this context: it offers high efficiency even at the higher flow temperatures required for free cooling and heat recovery, and poses no risk of a shortage of synthetic refrigerants over the system’s service life.
Measurement technology and remote monitoring
Meters and sensors on the refrigeration side are an integral part of the design, not a retrofit. Without them, it is impossible to optimise the system or provide evidence of its performance. Operating conditions can be monitored at any time via secure remote access.
Refurbishment whilst the facility remains in operation
Existing data centres can be refurbished without taking the IT systems offline: a new technical centre is built in parallel and only integrated afterwards. This requires a transition plan, which is currently in its early stages.
From real-world experience
NorthC Data centres, Munich
KSI has completed the first phase of the central cooling system upgrade for NorthC Datacenters GmbH at its Munich site – as part of an energy-efficiency refurbishment during ongoing data centre operations, without interrupting the existing IT infrastructure.
- Refrigerant R290 (propane)
- Cooling capacity 1.0 MW
- Redundancy 100 per cent, all pumps are redundant
- Operating mode dynamic switching between refrigeration and natural cooling modes
- Regulation Siemens central control system with secure remote access
- Structure Outdoor technical centre, built whilst operations were ongoing
So that you know whether we’re a good fit
The scale of our projects
We work on projects where a dedicated cooling plant is being built: centralised cooling generation, chilled water distribution network, defined load zones and overarching control systems. Typically in the three- to four-figure kilowatt range, with redundancy requirements and phased expansion over the years.
We are not the right partner for a single server room with a split-system air conditioner. As soon as a chilled-water network, redundancy or efficiency requirements come into play, we are no longer the right choice.
Further reading
What the system needs to achieve – and where efficiency comes from
The difference between a server room and a data centre, the role of cold water temperature, what the Energy Efficiency Act means for refrigeration technology, and seven questions that help identify a robust design: all this is covered in detail in our technical article.
Read the technical articleNew build, extension or refurbishment of an existing property?
We analyse the load profile, existing infrastructure and site conditions, and use this to develop a concept tailored to the facility’s operations – with robust assumptions regarding free cooling, redundancy and efficiency.
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