Data Center

Data Center Filtration

Data Centers are the powerhouses of the online world. Rapidly expanding and changing technology requires more and more Data Center locations to house informational data. These large buildings typically require a constant 24/7 cooling operation that consumes an immense amount of water and electricity to keep the servers and computers in cool operating conditions. In any given day, a Data Centers cooling towers are recirculating hundreds of thousands of gallons of water, bringing with it, loads of dirt, debris, scale, and biological activity. All of these unwanted particles dampens a systems ability to properly cool water while remaining thermally and energy efficient.

Keep Data Center Water Clean

To keep Data Centers running at cooler consistent temperatures and maintain design efficiencies some form of filtration is required to remove unwanted solids from liquid streams. LAKOS Separators play an important role in helping keep these massive systems working at their maximum potential, removing solids as fine as 5 microns with a Sand Media Filter or as fine as 44 microns with a Centrifugal Separator. LAKOS products are widely used for full-stream, side-stream, basin cleaning, and point of use applications to prevent unwanted solids from clogging heat exchangers, building up in the tower basins, and fouling of the piping and controls of cooling loops.

Air Cooled vs. Water Cooled

A white paper published in the ASHRAE Journal in November 2022 took a holistic look at the real costs associated with operating Air-Cooled and Water-Cooled Chiller systems being used at data centers in Denver, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. The study takes a unique look at the amount of water used not only in the system, but also the water used to generate the electricity to operate these systems.

The comparison between air-cooled and water-cooled chiller systems in data center cooling reveals that water-cooled systems demonstrate greater efficiency, especially in terms of energy consumption and water usage.

Incorporating a LAKOS Separator into the cooling system helps maintain and can enhance the overall efficiency. A LAKOS System:

Improves Chiller System Performance
Enhances Energy Efficiency
Mitigates Potential Water Quality Issues
Supports Conservation of Water

Click Here to download the ASHRAE Publication

Common Challenges for Cooling Water

System Maintenance

Cooling Towers, Heat Exchangers, and Chillers require more maintenance as dirt builds up in chilled water supply. Keeping systems clean requires frequent maintenance.

Water Conservation (WUE)

Lack of Filtration or Poor Filtration for HVAC Water loops can lead to lower Cycles of Concentration – thus further increasing data center water usage.