A water-based cooling system

Grundfos helps QNB Finansbank Data Centre go green with TPE2 Twin pumps.

Data centres are large consumers of energy. The Efficiency Increasing Project (EIP) was focused on switching from a gas-based cooling system to a water based one, thus going greener and making an impact.

Project

QNB Finansbank is among the companies that show their environmental sensitivity and join the movement to more efficient energy use. As Data Centres have to provide a continuous service 24/7, they are large energy consumers, especially for cooling applications. This creates the need for reliable energy-efficient solutions; therefore, as part of this Efficiency Increasing Project (EIP), the focus turned to the 13-year-old gas-based cooling system. Due to energy efficiency and higher capacity, they decided to switch from a gas based cooling system to water- based one and thus go greener and make an impact.

The Solution 

The solution was to implement a water-based cooling system with Dry Coolers, Computer Rack Air Conditioners (CRAC) units, and Free Cooling. To further reduce energy consumption, Grundfos offered TPE2 Twin Pumps for the cooling circuits, allowing Grundfos to be part of this prestigious renovation project. The design implemented consisted of 3 different CRAC systems consisting of 8 pieces at 71.8 kW cooling capacity, six pieces at 52.3 kW cooling capacity and one piece at 27.4 kW cooling capacity and 15 high-efficiency class IE5 TPE2 Twin Pumps with integrated frequency converters. This water-based cooling system allowed for Free Cooling and switching the compressors off. When the outside temperature drops sufficiently, the outside air is taken in.

The Outcome

QNB Finansbank, the most prestigious one in the Middle East/Africa region, is leading the trend towards sustainable technologies, which help Data Centres reduce their environmental impact by having solutions that provide low electricity and water consumption, plus producing the lowest amount of carbon dioxide emissions. QNB Finansbank found it easy to select Grundfos for this project because of the successful reference of Grundfos products used in QNB Finansbank Towers, which proved the high performance of Grundfos pumps and their smooth operation ensuring QNB Finansbank’s confidence in Grundfos.Once fully up and running, the new cooling system will hit all the metrics; increased capacity, reduced energy, reduced C02 and increased efficiency.

Omer Asian, Mechanical Engineer/ Maintenance Operation and Engineering Services, QNS Finansbank, says, “Cooling systems are one of the highest energy consuming systems within a Data Centre, so Efficiency Increasing Projects (EIP) to create energy savings, reduce operating costs and lower carbon dioxide emissions have to be implemented to become a greener Data Centre. When the two-stage EIP we are working on is implemented, we will reduce the energy consumption for cooling at QNB Finansbank Data Centre by more than 50 percent and the PUE Value from 1.52 to 1.21. I think the biggest strength of Grundfos in Data Centre projects is the pumps that take the energy efficiency to the highest level.”