Undisclosed Bank

Case Study: Critical Cooling Upgrade for Tier 1 Financial Data Centre, St Paul’s, London

Scope of Works:
Our team was engaged to carry out a full replacement of 15 Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) units at a major financial institution’s data centre located in central London. This project formed part of a broader cooling infrastructure upgrade to ensure continued resilience and performance in a 24/7 live environment.

Design Responsibility:
We assumed full design responsibility for the replacement chilled water (CHW) pipework infrastructure. This included establishing new pipework routes to integrate seamlessly with the newly specified Stulz CRAC units. Key elements of the design included:

• Pipework sizing and routing
• Calculation of new pump sizes and flow rates
• Coordination with existing infrastructure and spatial constraints

Our in-house design capability ensured the system was not only fully compliant with the cooling requirements of the new units but also optimised for long-term reliability and energy efficiency.

Offsite Fabrication:
To streamline installation and minimise site disruption, the CHW pipework was prefabricated off-site to exact specifications. This reduced installation time, improved quality control, and allowed for safer, more efficient assembly under tight programme constraints.

Logistics & Programme Constraints:
One of the most challenging aspects of the project was managing logistics within a live, business-critical data centre operating under strict security and operational protocols. Additional complexity arose from the following factors:

• All works were carried out during night shifts to avoid disruption to business operations.
• No on-site storage was permitted, requiring meticulous just-in-time deliveries of prefabricated steel pipework each evening.
• All movements and activities were carefully coordinated to maintain full data centre functionality throughout the works.

Outcome:
The project was delivered on time and without disruption to the client’s operations. Through effective design, planning, and execution, we ensured a seamless transition to the new CRAC infrastructure, significantly enhancing the resilience and efficiency of the cooling system within this mission-critical environment.