Egton Medical Information Systems Ltd (EMIS), based in Leeds, is estimated to hold the data for around 39 million patient records. It is the supplier of healthcare software and related services to GP practices. EMIS required a new 24/7 data center as expansion to the existing facility in order to increase its secure and resilient capacity as it extends its range of services to GPs.
The data center incorporates a highly efficient, reliable cooling and monitoring solution designed by Airedale. “We are aiming for a Gold CEEDA when the data center is fully populated. Airedale cooling solution should guarantee an annualized PUE of 1.3 for the room,” said Mike Marchant, Data Center Manager, EMIS.
Airedale solutions used
- 4 x InRak™ chilled water 33kW in-row coolers with an EER of 18.47 (EC fan, N + 1)
- 2 x DeltaChill™ FreeCool 180kW ExtraQuiet compact chillers with N + 1 resilience
- ACIS™ building energy management system
- 24/7 service support
The InRak™ units sit within a medium density cold aisle containment. Each InRak™ cools three racks at an average 7kW critical load per rack, with the ability to scale up to 20kW per rack. Chilled water is provided to the InRak™ units via a pipe distribution system by two DeltaChill™ FreeCool 180kW ExtraQuiet compact chillers offering N + 1 redundancy.
Energy management system
The ACIS™ building energy management system monitors power to all the data center areas and calculates live PUE
The data center was designed and built by Sudlows. Says Gary Frith, Sudlows Mechanical Director: “Airedale’s chilled water packaged solution is perfect for this application and the project-specific building energy management system designed and installed by Airedale is a winner with our customer.”
With the data center operating 24/7 and the temperature in the cold aisle containment typically at 23.5°C, up to 92% of the year can be spent with free-cooling active. The ACIS™ building energy management system monitors power to all the data center areas and calculates live PUE. Via a touch screen interface, the operator can monitor room temperature and pressure; the fresh air unit and the UPS battery life, run time and load.
Fully managed services
ACIS™ also provides chiller sequencing, alarm management and fire and water detection. Airedale provides a full managed service including an emergency helpline, professional support and call-out service, with guaranteed response times by qualified engineers.
“The InRak™ makes the aisle containment far more efficient. The InRak™ is perfectly designed, directing air sideways across the racks like a curtain, providing even cooling top and bottom. The units are very clever; they communicate with each other to maintain pressure and temperature consistent with the room. The InRak’s EC fans are great – they are all linked to the ACIS™ and ramp up and down according to demand. ACIS™ gives us 24/7 control of the operation and peace of mind,” said Mike Marchant, Data Center Manager, EMIS.
