STULZ Australia is continuing its partnership with data centre company NEXTDC, to launch the nation’s first co-location facility that uses a DFC indirect free cooling system, leading the charge in energy efficiency.
Located at NEXTDC’s B2 Brisbane data centre, the STULZ CyberAir DFC uses a traditional floor mounted computer room complete with specially designed air-conditioning equipment, that uses favourable ambient conditions to provide cooling. The inherent design means the centre does not require energy-intensive refrigeration compressors, and is never impacted by external humidity.
B2 is the first data centre in Australia to receive Tier IV Certification of Constructed Facility (TCCF) from Uptime Institute, the world’s leading independent data centre advisory and certification organisation. The data centre is built to withstand individual equipment failures, distribution path interruptions from an unexpected event or planned work activity whilst maintaining operations. The accreditation confirms the exceptional resilience of the facility’s critical infrastructure for NEXTDC customers.
John Jakovcevic, Managing Director of STULZ Australia, says: “NEXTDC was looking for a solution that allowed quick deployment, offered low initial capital investment, whilst providing maximum energy efficiency. STULZ’s CyberAir DFC (indirect free cooling system) fit the bill.
“This system does not require a large and expensive central chiller plant as cooling is performed by a combination of a free cooling economy cycle using only fans and pumps, combined with water cooled efficient direct expansion (DX) for summer trim cooling.
“With the higher design return air temperatures, free cooling can be deployed even in Brisbane to achieve great efficiency results over the year.”
STULZ Australia has worked with NEXTDC since the outset of their national data centre rollout back in 2010. They have already worked on data centres B1, S1, M1, C1 and P1, and work will commence on the company’s new S2 Sydney facility shortly.
Jeff Van Zetten, Head of Engineering and Design at NEXTDC, says: “We have always been impressed by STULZ’s technical innovation and drive to achieve effective solutions.
“We needed a modular, flexible and space efficient design, which was highly energy efficient. The STULZ CyberAir DFC meets NEXTDC’s strict criteria by using interconnected, closed-loop cooling towers to provide unparalleled Uptime Institute Tier IV fault-tolerant resilience, never before achieved in Australia. The capex for B2 is even less than that for our Tier III facilities in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.
“Onsite load test results have indicated B2 will operate at a NABERS 5-star level of energy efficiency once it approaches its design load, the highest data centre efficiency rating yet achieved in Australia.”