Sustainable server cooling for the Ludwigsburg District Office

ENGIE Refrigeration starts the year with a green order: the refrigeration and heating specialist from Lindau on Lake Constance will install a thermeco₂ high-temperature heat pump of machine type HHR 130 with a heating capacity of 100 kilowatts at the Ludwigsburg District Office. The model is especially eco-friendly, partly because it utilises the natural refrigerant CO₂ and partly because it provides cold and heat simultaneously. ENGIE Refrigeration has also conceptually overhauled the thermeco₂: the heat pump now contains a filter dryer and more control options.

The administrative campus of the Ludwigsburg District Office is home to almost all the important specialist departments in the Swabian district. Various services for the citizens of Ludwigsburg are provided there with the aid of digital tools. This requires a powerful IT infrastructure, which is why the District Office maintains an in-house data centre. Ambient temperature plays an essential role in reliable operation. As the server racks generate a large amount of heat, the refrigeration supply must function smoothly around the clock. In the summer of 2019, it became clear that action was needed here: “The existing R22 refrigeration system was outdated and needed to be fully modernised. As the Ludwigsburg District Office attaches great importance to a sustainable refrigeration solution, it chose the thermeco₂ high-temperature heat pump from ENGIE Refrigeration”, says Frank Glaser, key account manager for heating applications, who runs the project at ENGIE Refrigeration and works closely with the Eser, Dittmann, Nehring & Partner planning office. The Ludwigsburg District Office intends to operate in climate-neutral fashion from 2025. To achieve this, it wants to use a photovoltaic system and a combined heat and power system to produce and consume its own electricity in future.

Eco-friendly refrigeration and heating supply from ENGIE

ENGIE Refrigeration is now supporting the District Office on its path towards climate neutrality with sustainable server cooling. “The Ludwigsburg District Office requires heat uncoupling in a challenging temperature range: high outlet temperatures of up to 90 degrees Celsius, and a low inlet temperature of 38 degrees Celsius. Our thermeco₂ high-temperature heat pump unfolds its full potential under these conditions, while alternative solutions could only achieve this with a great deal of technical and primary energy expenditure”, explains Frank Glaser.

The thermeco₂ high-temperature heat pump will be installed at the Ludwigsburg District Office in March 2021, and will then provide the base load refrigeration for year-round server cooling. Furthermore, the heat pump will cool the administrative building in the summer months and, thanks to its heat recovery function, simultaneously provide heat for heating the building, for heating drinking water and for conditioning the recirculated air in the server rooms. This makes the refrigeration solution especially sustainable, which is why it is subsidised by the state. Additional chillers and boilers are available for peak loads in hot or cold weather.

With its machine design, the thermeco₂ high-temperature heat pump adapts easily to local conditions. Another advantage emerges in this context. The thermeco₂ high-temperature heat pump uses the natural refrigerant CO₂ as its refrigerant. It is extremely safe (safety class A1) and therefore involves few safety-related requirements for the installation space. In addition, CO₂ is non-combustible and non-toxic, and it does not contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer or to the greenhouse effect. In total, the thermeco2 high-temperature heat pump will save 38.4 tons of CO₂ per year when compared to the existing refrigeration system – fully in line with the sustainability strategy of the Ludwigsburg District Office.

thermeco₂ impresses with new properties

In addition, ENGIE Refrigeration has subjected the thermeco₂ high-temperature heat pump to fundamental enhancements, which will now take effect for the first time in the machine for the District Office. “As of now, we will be relying on our tried-and-tested QUANTUM electrical components in the thermeco2 as well. In addition, the filter dryer will become the standard. It keeps the refrigerant circuit clean and dry and thus counteracts the decay of the chiller oil, corrosion and further contamination. This allows us to keep the performance of the system at a constant high level”, explains Frank Glaser. In addition, the thermeco₂ high-temperature heat pump weighs around ten percent less than the previous model, thanks to its optimised design, smaller switch cabinet and soldered connections instead of flange connections. Last but not least, the entire series will offer even greater choice in terms of control options in future. The design of the flow monitor for cold and warm water is similar to the QUANTUM chiller, for example, and “Cool Care 3.0 DSL Gateway” is used as a remote maintenance tool. It allows the specialists at ENGIE to access the touch panel of the heat pump remotely. This facilitates commissioning, troubleshooting when faults occur, and the installation of software updates – a real benefit for the Ludwigsburg District Office and all other customers of ENGIE Refrigeration.