Mission-critical infrastructure solution
Context and challenge
In traditional data centers, heat dissipation is often through water-cooled chillers combined with evaporative towers or dry coolers, with a major impact on water consumption, energy consumption, operating costs and plant complexity.
Against a backdrop of increasing focus on environmental and energy sustainability, a high-density data center operator, active in high performance computing (HPC), has embarked on a journey to optimize its cooling infrastructure, with the goal of significantly reducing combined water and energy use without compromising reliability, business continuity and performance.
The existing configuration, based on water-cooled chillers combined with open-loop evaporative towers, was no longer fully aligned with the client’s new environmental, operational and economic goals.
Objectives of the project
Following a joint analysis, the following strategic priorities were defined:
- Significant reduction in water consumption while avoiding the increase in electricity consumption typical of full dry solutions
- Supporting high thermal loads in limited plant space
- Maintaining chiller architecture, improving its overall efficiency
- Guarantee of required flow temperatures in all climatic conditions
- Maximum operational reliability and service continuity
- Optimization of operation and maintenance costs in the long run
W-Tech analysis and proposed solution
Site analysis
The W-Tech team conducted an in-depth analysis of the site, considering:
- IT load profiles and future growth scenarios
- Available spaces and layout constraints
- Energy efficiency and sustainability goals
- Local climate data, seasonality, and design conditions
Evaluation of cooling solutions
Various cooling solutions were evaluated, including traditional evaporative configurations, adiabatic systems and hybrid solutions.
W-Tech iSeries Solution
The optimal solution identified was the integration of existing chillers with W-Tech iSeries hybrid chillers, which can combine dry, adiabatic, and evaporative cooling in a single flexible and adaptive platform, dynamically optimizing the balance between energy consumption and water use.
Advantages of the W-Tech iSeries solution
The W-Tech iSeries hybrid system is designed to automatically modulate the operating mode according to outdoor environmental conditions, maximizing the overall efficiency of the chiller cooling system.
Key benefits
- Significant reduction in water consumption compared with traditional evaporative solutions
- Significant reduction in energy consumption compared with conventional systems
- Sensible cooling guaranteed throughout the year thanks to the dry section
- Lower water use even under the most severe design conditions
- Plume elimination without the need for additional systems
- Reduction in maintenance activities and chemical use
- High operational reliability, ideal for mission-critical applications
- Small footprint, particularly suitable for sites with limited space
Design and maintenance
The crossflow design and pre-assembled delivery also ensure:
- Easy access to tank, batteries, and mechanical components
- Quick inspections even with units running
- Improved operational safety and reduced downtime
Achievements
Adoption of the W-Tech iSeries solution has enabled the data center to achieve concrete and measurable results:
- Significant improvement in annual Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE)
- Reduction of electrical power consumption by heat dissipation systems
- Important decrease in overall operating costs (energy and water)
- Improving the overall energy efficiency of the site
The system has continuously ensured water temperatures meet the required specifications, reliably supporting high-density IT infrastructure.
Value to the customer
Thanks to the W-Tech solution, the customer was able to:
- Dramatically reduce water and energy consumption
- Improve data center efficiency, resilience and sustainability
- Achieve a competitive initial investment with a rapid payback compared to classical air solutions
- Align infrastructure with ESG and environmental sustainability goals
Why W-Tech
W-Tech designs and manufactures advanced cooling solutions for data centers, industry and HVAC, with a focus on:
- Energy Efficiency
- Reducing water consumption
- Reliability for mission-critical applications
- Customized design based on site characteristics
W-Tech supports next-generation data centers with technologies and solutions designed to meet today’s needs and anticipate those of tomorrow.
