Interxion reduces cooling system energy consumption with real-time optimisation software

Interxion, a leading European provider of carrier- and cloud-neutral colocation data centre services and a Digital Realty company, has reduced its cooling system energy consumption by 20 per cent during the first 12 months of an ongoing project with data centre optimisation specialists, EkkoSense.

Wednesday, 3rd June 2020 Posted 4 years ago in by Phil Alsop

The project – which commenced in February last year – has been designed to focus on thermal monitoring, increasing cooling capacity and reducing the energy cost of cooling equipment at one of the key London sites, West Drayton. The project follows on from the recently announced wind energy agreement in Texas and is another step towards reducing the organisation’s global carbon footprint as it looks to set a science-based target later in the year.

Throughout the project, Interxion took advantage of EkkoSense’s EkkoSoft® Critical software, which provides real-time visibility of key data centre operational and thermal performance to monitor the site, identify areas for improvement – such as with the floor grille layout and fan performance – and subsequently make the appropriate changes to optimise performance. Acting on these software-driven insights was a key driver behind the project’s success.

Through benchmarking, optimisation and post-optimisation phases, Interxion has now been able to deliver 100 per cent thermal compliance and reduce its cooling system energy consumption by 20 per cent.

“The results from our initial project with EkkoSense have been nothing short of impressive. As an organisation, we take very seriously our responsibility to create green, energy-efficient data centres. This means we are constantly looking for innovative ways of reducing energy consumption and also making sure that we play our part in supporting the UK’s 2050 net zero emissions target,” says Jeff Tapley, Group Managing Director, Interxion.

According to James Kirkwood, Head of Critical Services at EkkoSense, “Interxion and EkkoSense have clearly demonstrated that technological innovation – through advanced thermal optimisation software – can deliver significant energy saving.”

“Key to the results has been the unique performance analytics built into EkkoSoft® Critical to highlight airflow and cooling inefficiencies and to provide visibility of critical metrics throughout the energy-saving process. The team at Interxion also uses the software on a daily basis for ongoing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) capacity planning activities to maintain the optimised state as the environment changes,” concludes Kirkwood.

The partnership with EkkoSense is just one of the ongoing projects and initiatives Interxion has in place to improve sustainability across its global portfolio. Renewable procurement to date includes 100% renewable energy for its EMEA portfolio, 100% wind power for its U.S. colocation business unit and 100% carbon-free and renewable power supplied to several Northern California properties.

The project with EkkoSense continues to expand with the deployment in a New York data centre. An additional New York location, together with a further five European will take place later in 2020.