Construction Magazine March 2018 | Page 37

The design power and scalability of the VF means that you can use it to design electronics whose thermal properties require the strictest of control adoption highlight the appetite for simulation tools , like Future ’ s 6SigmaDX , in the construction of colocation DCs . For example , when Compass ( a colocator responsible for advanced disasterresistant , future-proofed DCs ) needed to be able to capacity plan with confidence , it chose Virtual Facility to design and commission DCs that maximise revenue and ensure service level agreements ( SLAs ) remain un-breached .
“ We also work with hardware vendors like Airedale ,” adds King , “ which uses our software to design their air handling units as they are looking at how it internally sets up and
configures its cooling units to get maximum benefit from outside air conditions .” Elsewhere , City Bank in the US is utilising these simulation tools for energy efficiency savings .
The team at Future is well placed to react to current trends in the construction of DCs . “ We ’ re seeing a move from chilled water and DX units with a cooling plant outside serving air handlers inside , towards direct fresh air cooling or indirect evaporative coolers on the external wall of the DC ,” notes King . “ To combat many designs which would have fallen over on a hot day , the cooling is done directly through air to air exchange without the
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