Data centre improves air ventilation, humidity management and energy consumption

Project

By installing a new, energy-efficient air handling system, APAC helped data centre operator Interxion comply with all legal requirements and tenant agreements regarding air ventilation and humidity levels.

Background

For one of their data centres in Amsterdam, major data centre operator Interxion asked us to improve the quality of the fresh air supplied to customer areas, among other spaces. Particularly due to increasingly extreme outside air conditions, it had become more difficult to comply with requirements set out in, for example, the Working Conditions Act and agreements with tenants with regard to air ventilation and humidity levels. We were tasked with supplying fresh air at a temperature of 22°C at outside temperatures between -10 and 30°C, whilst keeping humidity levels constant. This project is intended as a pilot for various Interxion locations in the Netherlands and abroad.

Our Solution

We designed a centrally located air handling system, as well as a fit-for-purpose control system, which was linked to the existing software used by the cooling units, downflow units and the building management system. The air handling system was designed so as to reuse the air ducts in the data centre to move the treated fresh air. The entire new system was installed outside and connected to existing roof inlets. By recirculating the return air, we were also able to reuse the heat, creating a system with limited power consumption.

The result

With its new system, the data centre now easily complies with all legal requirements and all criteria set out in customer agreements with regard to air ventilation and humidity levels. Because the system is based on the existing energy sources and infrastructure used in the data centre, it is a particularly sustainable solution, which is also made more energy-efficient by its intelligent control system and ability to reuse heat. Finally, the air handling system can also be used to extract fire extinguisher fumes after extinguishing a fire in a customer area, thus exceeding the customer’s expectations in various ways.