Data center cooling design
We design cooling for data centers, server rooms and edge sites, from containment and chilled water plants to direct-to-chip liquid cooling for high-density racks. Every design is built around uptime first, then efficiency.
When you need it
- You’re building a new data center, data hall or server room.
- Rack densities are rising past what your room-level air cooling can handle.
- You’re planning GPU or AI workloads that need liquid cooling.
- Hot spots, high PUE or a cooling failure have exposed weaknesses in the existing design.
- You need a redundancy strategy that matches your uptime target.
What we do
Define the load and the risk
We confirm IT load today and at full build-out, rack densities, the uptime target and how much downtime a cooling failure would cost.
Choose the cooling architecture
We compare air, hybrid and liquid options, containment strategies, and free cooling hours for your site’s climate.
Design for redundancy
We size equipment and arrange piping, power and controls so a single failure, or maintenance on any one unit, doesn’t take down cooling.
Model and document
We run load and airflow studies, then produce drawings and specifications for permit, tender and construction.
Commission under load
We support integrated testing with load banks, including failure scenarios, before IT equipment goes live.
What you receive
- A cooling basis of design with load, density and redundancy assumptions stated
- Free cooling and annual energy estimates, including predicted PUE
- Airflow or CFD studies where density and layout warrant them
- Drawings and specifications for permit and construction
- Commissioning scripts and load bank test results
Questions
What inlet temperature should a data hall run at?
ASHRAE’s thermal guidelines give a recommended server inlet range of 18 to 27 C for most equipment classes. Running toward the upper end of that range increases free cooling hours, as long as your IT equipment’s own limits allow it.
When does liquid cooling make sense?
Air cooling with good containment handles most racks up to roughly the 20 to 30 kW range. Beyond that, and for most GPU servers, direct-to-chip liquid cooling or rear-door heat exchangers are usually more practical and more efficient.
Does Canada’s climate help?
Yes. Cold, dry winters give most Canadian sites thousands of hours a year of economizer or free cooling operation, which cuts chiller energy sharply.
Further reading
- Diversity and safety factors in load calculations
Learn the difference between diversity and safety factors, where each should be applied in a load calculation, and how stacked margins quietly produce oversized systems.
- Selecting outdoor design conditions for Canadian cities
Learn where Canadian outdoor design data comes from, what the percentage values mean, and how to pick heating, cooling and dehumidification conditions that suit the building's risk.
- Central plant redundancy and N+1 design
Learn what redundancy terms like N+1 and 2N actually mean for a central plant, how to decide how much redundancy a building needs, and where single points of failure tend to hide.
- Waterside economizers and free cooling in Canada
Learn how waterside economizers produce chilled water from cooling towers or dry coolers in cold weather, how to arrange and control them, and where they pay off in Canada.
- Computer room air conditioners vs comfort cooling
Learn how computer room air conditioners differ from comfort cooling equipment, why comfort units often fail in IT rooms, and how to choose the right cooling for small server rooms through to data halls.
- ASHRAE TC 9.9 thermal guidelines for data centers
Learn what the ASHRAE TC 9.9 recommended and allowable envelopes mean, how equipment classes A1 to A4 and H1 differ, how humidity and altitude are treated, and how to use the guidelines to save cooling energy safely.
Related services
Also in HVAC design and design-build: New HVAC design, HVAC design-build, High-efficiency HVAC upgrades, Building automation and BACnet integration, Healthcare HVAC, Restaurant and commercial kitchen HVAC, Cleanroom HVAC design, Critical airflow control and air valves.
Get a quote for data center cooling design
Tell us about the building and what you need. We’ll be in touch within one hour.