Schneider Electric installs energy-efficient modular data center cooling for Canadian ICT provider Cogeco

Schneider Electric recently completed the installation of its EcoBreeze indirect evaporative data center cooling system, based on the company's modular economizer cooling technology, at a new colocation and cloud services facility in Barrie, Canada. The facility is operated by Cogeco Data Services, a major ICT provider that provides data center, managed IT, cloud and connectivity services to some of Canada's largest companies and public sector organizations.

Formally starting operations this past June, Schneider says the new 10-MW facility will eventually feature a total of sixteen EcoBreeze units as it expands. By offering flexible, energy-efficient cooling options, the EcoBreeze platform will allow Cogeco Data Services to meet stringent energy efficiency goals.

“The EcoBreeze solution was the perfect fit for our new colocation facility because of its robust, redundant, modular design and its flexibility in offering several cooling options,” says Jeff Edward, vice president of Engineering and Operations at Cogeco Data Services. “At our Barrie facility, we plan to take advantage of free cooling as much as possible to reduce energy usage. EcoBreeze enables us to do this while also giving us the room to scale quickly and effectively as we continue to grow.”

Ehvert Mission Critical was the strategic partner selected by Cogeco to deliver the new data center. The limited space on the property presented the challenge of adapting the EcoBreeze system to a roof-based configuration. Ehvert undertook the detailed design and construction of a series of dedicated structural frames to support the systems above the existing building structure.

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“The EcoBreeze’s modular architecture and ISO Shipping frame-based construction, allowed our team to design, fabricate and place the units in a fraction of the time necessary for a custom site assembled solution," said Vello Ehvert, president, Ehvert Mission Critical.

Schneider Electric’s EcoBreeze units have the ability to automatically switch between two economizer options, air-to-air and indirect evaporative heat exchange, depending on the variability of outside ambient air temperature. This provides "the most energy efficient cooling method possible" by optimizing the total number of hours available for full or partial free cooling, contends the company. The units are installed outside of the data center, on the roof of the facility, taking up zero whitespace and enabling easy expansion and serviceability.

“Cogeco Data Services’ new Barrie data center is clearly a market leader in terms of using state-of-art technology to minimize environmental impact, providing maximum uptime and best serving the needs of its customers,” says Daniel Peloquin, president, Canada Operations, Schneider Electric. “The EcoBreeze solution is an important part of this puzzle by allowing Cogeco Data Services to take advantage of a modular design for increased capacity and redundancy and most importantly, helping Cogeco Data Services maximize energy efficiency.”

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Specifically, the new Cogeco Data Services facility is also utilizing the following Schneider Electric data center products:

-- The company's touch safe, modular power distribution architecture, which enables moves, add-ons and changes without having to shut down panel boards.

-- The Schneider Electric Symmetra 1.6 Megawatt uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, which help provide energy efficient, modular, scalable, three-phase power protection for Cogeco Data Services’ mission-critical environment.

-- The StruxureWare data center infrastructure management software (DCIM), which provides an instant overview of data center operations through inventory management, a PUE calculator, real-time device alarms, and location-based drill-down.

For more information on Schneider Electric’s EcoBreeze, Symmetra Megawatt or StruxureWare solutions, visit www.schneider-electric.com.