Custodian Data Centres, the UK’s leading colocation provider for MSPs, cloud, enterprise and digital entertainment organisations, enlisted Aqua to design, supply and install an innovative temperature control system at their new 10MW site located in Dartford, Kent.

With Custodian’s award-winning Maidstone facility nearing capacity, Custodian commissioned its new ‘DA2’ facility in Dartford, Kent, to meet the continued growth demands of its customers. Less than 15 miles outside of Central London, Custodian’s goal was to provide an advanced facility for end-users to relocate and host their mission-critical applications. The new site is carrier-neutral, operating at a PUE rating of below 1.3 and powered by resilient, 100% dual diverse renewable energy feeds.

Aqua delivered a highly energy-efficient, bespoke, closed-loop air cooling system with integrated free cooling. The design for Custodian’s DA2 includes 12 custom-designed cooling coils and a free cooling chilled water system, comprising of 3 x 500kW Aqua EcoPro+ optimised free cooling chiller units, to accommodate for the initial phase of the site opening. The EcoPro+ units operate on R454B green refrigerant. Utilising integrated free cooling chillers, drastically reduces the amount of time mechanical cooling is required, saving significantly on energy usage, carbon impact and wear & tear of components parts, in particular the compressor.

The Aqua EcoPro+ units have an in-built, optimised, free cooling coil, resulting in a fully packaged solution. In addition, with an Aqua unit, free cooling is achievable at higher ambient temperatures than with any other brand on the market, making Aqua a suitable partner for Custodian and its ever-growing client base as it allows for upgrades and additional capacity quickly and easily as needed, depending on customer needs.

The system installed at Custodian achieves all the benefits of a fresh air system but without the need for the costs and resources normally associated with air filtration and maintenance. Fixed humidity control enables precise temperature control, eliminates any guesswork, and achieves total peace of mind. EC fans installed on-site maximise system efficiency even further, as well as achieving stable pressure control.

“With the new DA2 Dartford site boasting a 10MW capacity, we needed a reliable cooling system that could handle the increased demands from the bigger site. Aqua’s bespoke energy-efficient systems and esteemed trusted experts means our customer’s data remains protected and running at optimized efficiency”, says Callum Woodhouse, M&E Manager at Custodian Data Centres. “Their sustainability commitments align with our overall company goals in reducing our carbon footprint, whilst providing a cost-effective and reliable solution for our customers. As our customer base continues to grow and expand over time, this Aqua solution allows us to adapt to the additional demands, in a seamless and efficient way”.

A fully concurrent maintained pipework system is integral to the design, ensuring no single point of failure, something which is essential in the data centre industry. In fact, a part of the pipework can be removed without affecting the normal facility operations. N+1 capability was built-in on the mechanical equipment, including fans, coils, and pumps, this gives the facility full redundancy, in the unlikely event that a fault should ever occur, DA2 can continue to operate whilst maintenance is undertaken.

Mike West, Contracts Director at Aqua, explained “Custodian’s commitment to energy efficiency is evident throughout their data centre facilities and it was critical that the DA2 site needed to mirror the energy efficiencies achieved at Maidstone. Reducing carbon footprint for end-user clients – with lower operating costs – were key drivers in this project. Maidstone uses five times less energy per kW of IT load than an average data centre – a challenge we were more than happy to accept and believe we have exceeded!”

Based on 500kW of cooling, the system is expected to use 106,766kwhrs/year. In comparison, a traditional chiller system would utilise in the region of 1,095,000kwhrs – resulting in a saving of over 90%. The system is also future-proofed, with the option for expansion into higher density cooling further down the line, as Custodian continues to grow and expand.

The Client –

Leading Packaging Manufacturer

The Challenge –

Issues Reaching Desired Process Temperature During Warmer Weather

The Solution –

Cooling System Incorporating Chiller, Free Cooler, Pipework & Pumps

A leading manufacturer and supplier of recyclable, flexible packaging solutions contacted us after experiencing issues with reaching their desired process temperature, in warmer weather.

Our Senior Sales Engineer, Mark Hopper explains how we helped them improve the reliability of their process cooling, future proofed their system for expansion and enabled them to make significant energy savings, every year.

Situation

As part of the manufacturing process, a water-cooled chiller with integrated free cooling is used to cool a gear box heat exchanger and cooling for air cooling rings, but in the summer months, the equipment struggles to maintain the required temperature.

In addition to this, full free cooling is only available at -3°C, meaning that a large proportion of free cooling isn’t being taken advantage of throughout the year – resulting in higher energy costs.

Due to the setup, the current system is preventing the manufacturer from growing production capacity and inconsistent process temperatures are creating more wastage and higher energy costs.

Solution

From our initial site survey and consultation, we determined that an additional 160kW of cooling duty was required to maintain the temperature of the gear box heat exchanger and identified that the galvanised pipework was causing water purity issues and blockages.

We designed a new system which included stainless steel pipework (lagged to prevent against thermal losses and condensation), pumps, a new chiller and a standalone free cooler with the existing chiller installed as a back-up.

The process requires the water temperature to be maintained at 16°C, so through the control panel, we set the free cooler to operate when the ambient temperature is up to 14°C, anything over this and a 3-way valve will divert, bypassing the free cooler. The internal chiller pump will then draw water from the process tank and cool it in the evaporator. The water is then driven back to the process by a dual inverter driven pump set.

To ensure a continued operation and cooling to the gear box heat exchanger, we installed the new system alongside the existing one. Once the chiller and free cooler had been commissioned and tested, we connected it to the gear box heat exchanger and removed the old system, including pipework.

To enable further cooling requirements to be easily and cost-effectively catered for in the future, we installed two full sized valves within the pipework.

Results

In just 12 weeks from receiving the enquiry, we had the equipment craned in and the new, more reliable cooling system installed, with capability for expansion.

We estimate that the free cooler will reduce running costs from £89,040 to £41,512, creating a saving of £47,528 per annum, as well as boosting the manufacturer’s green credentials.

You can download the full case study here.

Aqua Group, has reached the shortlist of the Plastics Industry Awards 2019.

Aqua are a finalist for “Best Environmental or Energy Efficiency Initiative of the Year” for a process cooling system they designed and installed for a plastics recycling client.

The client has been recycling plastics for over 50 years and use state of the art machinery to repurpose scrap polythene waste into membrane for the construction industry. This damp proof membrane or damp-proof course is then installed in new buildings, meaning the plastic is “locked in” to the fabric of that building for its lifetime. The plastic is not just recycled, it’s taken out of circulation for the long term, minimising any potential risk to the planet. In addition, customers save money on land fill and skip costs as well as meeting their environmental targets.

Aqua designed an innovative cooling system for the recycling machinery, using adiabatic cooling rather than the more traditional option of mechanical cooling. The adiabatic system dramatically reduces carbon emissions, reducing the client’s dependency on refrigerant by 90+% and minimising their energy consumption.

“We’re delighted to have reached the finals of the Plastics Awards which are regarded highly within our industry” explains Shaun Lancaster, Sales Manager, Aqua Group. “This cooling project reduced our client’s energy consumption by 82%, saving them up around £80,000 every year. They’ve also massively reduced their refrigerant use and their overall carbon footprint. It’s a great feeling knowing that by helping this customer we’re also part of a bigger initiative which directly impacts on the environment in a really positive way.”

Now in its 19th year, the Plastics Industry Awards recognise and reward excellence within the market. The awards comprise of 15 categories and are judged by a panel of industry experts. The lucky winners will be announced at the “Greatest Show” themed awards dinner on 27th September at London Hilton on Park Lane.

For an award-winning London based brewery, a move to new premises gave them the opportunity to install a brand-new process cooling system, complete with built-in heat reclaim.

Wild Card Brewery, based in Walthamstow, East London, was founded in 2012. Within just 5 years Wild Card had 2 award winning beers to their name and currently supply supermarkets, pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the UK. They quickly realised that demand for their products was totally outstripping production and moved to new premises, giving them the potential to double their capacity.

Aqua designed and installed an energy efficient temperature control system for the new facility. The system chills the brewing tanks to sub 10°C once the fermentation stage of the process is complete. The chiller unit was designed with built in waste heat recovery, which is achieved by means of a desuperheater. The waste heat created during fermentation is subsequently reclaimed and used at the earlier “mashing” stage which requires water at 70-75°C. The heat reclaim process can achieve 50-55°C which means only a small amount of energy is then needed to top up the temperature to the required 70-75°C.

The new system’s energy credentials enabled Wild Card to successfully secure a £5,000 capital contribution from the Carbon Trust’s Green Business Fund. In addition to this, Aqua’s system is expected to save the brewery £3,000 each year in energy savings.

The full solution included:

Chiller with desuperheater for built in heat recovery
Glycol tank
Pumps
Individual temperature control systems for each tank – 12 in total
Bespoke design service
Support with a Carbon Trust Green Business Fund capital contribution application
Full installation – including electrical and mechanical works

For Wild Card the system has proved a real success. Head Brewer, Jaega Wise, explains “We’re really pleased with the new system at Lockwood Way, and after starting a crowdfunding campaign to facilitate our move, the annual savings are invaluable to us as an SME. The fact that Aqua are an approved supplier to The Carbon Trust and could help us secure an additional £5,000 funding was invaluable. We’re now looking forward to producing lots more Wild Card beer for everyone!”