Capgemini Data Centre, Birmingham

Type of works: supply of EcoCooling CRECs (computer room evaporative coolers).

Capgemini is one of the world's largest IT services, management consulting, outsourcing and professional services companies with a staff of over 95,000 operating in 36 countries. It is headquartered in Paris.

The Capgemini Carbon Commitment is, “To improve our energy efficiency in data centres by more thant 20% by 2014”. To help them with their carbon commitment, EcoCooling was called in to advise on a scheme to replace their existing poorly performing CRACs with a new state-of-the-art, energy efficient, low carbon cooling system. The resulting installation is for 5 EcoCooling evaporative coolers and 4 ducted extraction fans to replace the old system of five air-conditioning units that were cooling their basement data centre at their Birmingham offices.

The EcoCooling CRECs (computer room evaporative coolers) provide over 140kW of cooling into the basement area, ducting the air through a raised floor. The new system is expected to save over £36,000.00 of electricity per annum and over 270 tonnes of carbon emissions, compared to the old inefficient air-conditioning system.

The environmentally friendly EcoCooling system, is a fresh-air based system which uses no refrigerants. It has a patented ‘attemperation’ system to ensure that the area is fed with correct temperature air throughout the year, even in the depths of winter using waste heat from
the data centre to temper the incoming fresh air.

The EcoCooling CRECs are controlled by a cascade of operations dependent upon the outside temperature. A PLC is used to control all parameters and monitor performance. This includes group control of CRECS and links to fire systems. The Capgemini system
incorporates 5 smoke vents which would be used in the event of a fire within the basement. The turnkey installation including removing the old R22 air conditioning and all services.