Air conditioning upgrade enhances Royal Free Hospital's IT efficiency

Secure I.T. Environments has successfully concluded an extensive air conditioning upgrade project at Royal Free Hospital’s primary data centre.

The project, demanding in its requirements and executed while the data centre remained operational, was completed within a span of nine weeks. This upgrade aimed to replace outdated cooling systems and significantly enhance the energy efficiency of the facility.

Originally constructed by Secure I.T. Environments in 2010, the data centre is pivotal to the operations at Royal Free Hospital. It supports the hospital’s services to an array of patients, including those undergoing acute and specialist treatments such as transplants, and also contributes to the training of numerous medical students each year.

To achieve a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.15 or better, the project involved the removal of the existing cooling infrastructure and the installation of four GEA 18D Multi-DENCO down flow close-control direct expansion air handling systems complemented by four DENCO ambient air-cooled condensers. The system's use of an inverter compressor, electronic expansion valve (EEV), and optimised fans ensures air cooling without dehumidification, thereby enhancing energy efficiency and reducing costs.

Chris Wellfair, projects director at Secure I.T. Environments, highlighted the challenges faced during the installation. “At all times we had to consider that this was a fully operational hospital, with a tight project window to ensure completion before summer temperatures hit. We installed temporary cooling to ensure concurrent maintainability of existing services at all times, as well as carefully managing all logistics through multi-departmental planning at the Trust across Properties, Estates and I.T.”

Given the critical nature of the data centre’s role within the hospital, the project demanded intricate coordination to ensure compliance with various regulations, including those related to building codes, planning, and acoustics. The new condenser units were relocated to an external balcony, which involved the installation and weatherproofing of new pipework, ensuring accessibility and safety for ongoing maintenance.

As a result of this successful project, Secure I.T. Environments has secured additional assignments, which include implementing cold aisle containment within the same data centre and upgrading uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and air conditioning (AC) systems at another facility. The company already provides ongoing maintenance support across five rooms at the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust.

Secure I.T. Environments specialises in designing and building secure modular, containerised, and micro data centres. Their comprehensive services extend across various sectors such as healthcare, education, government, and private enterprises. The company’s relationship with clients is built on a foundation of trust and collaboration, ensuring the protection and efficiency of critical infrastructure components.

For this particular project, adhering to stringent timelines and ensuring negligible disruption to the daily operations of a functional hospital environment were paramount. The project outcome not only fulfilled these demands but also set the stage for additional enhancements in the hospital’s data infrastructure.