Delivering net zero carbon buildings with design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA)

And nowhere is this more relevant than in data centre design.. A data centre is about performance above all – minimising cost per kW, maximising IT yield per square metre, minimising energy and water consumption, maximising the efficiency of M&E building services, and minimising waste..

Chilled water system flexibility.The most common systems installed in data centres use chilled water as the medium between the internal and external units.

Chilled water systems offer significant flexibility:.Data hall configuration:.Chilled water systems can accommodate various data hall layouts and are suitable for future integration of liquid cooling technologies.. Heat rejection plant location:.

The heat rejection plant can be positioned on the roof or even remotely from the data hall itself, providing valuable design freedom..External heat rejection options:.

Chilled water systems are compatible with a range of external heat rejection options, including dry cooling, dry cooling with partial evaporative assist, and full adiabatic cooling.

This allows for optimisation based on climate and environmental considerations.. A key factor in maximising the heat rejection system (with chilled water) efficiency is minimising the heat rejection unit approach temperature i.e.This means that the focus and the priority should shift from operational to embodied carbon during the design..

Embodied and operational carbon increase in a decarbonised grid scenario.In this context, the request for Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) has increased notably over the last few years.

The production of WLCA is required by BREEAM and the GLA.In a BREEAM NC 2018 assessment, it is possible to achieve up to 7 credits by doing a WLCA, so for developments that aspire to Excellent or Outstanding ratings the analysis of embodied carbon has become very important.