Data centre
Data centre cooling equipment
Data centre cooling equipment, from air handlers, in row coolers and chillers to coolant distribution units for liquid cooling, specified by capacity, temperatures and redundancy.
- Equipment
- CRAH, CRAC, in row, rear door, CDU, chiller
- Capacity
- kW of heat removedper unit and in total
- Heat transfer
- chilled water, direct expansion, liquid
- Temperatures
- supply and returnor the CDU loop
- Redundancy
- N+1 or 2Nset by the design
Cooling is specified from the heat and the temperatures. Air cooled rooms work from supply and return air temperatures; liquid cooled racks work from the secondary loop the coolant distribution unit serves, its flow and its approach to the facility water.
Refrigerant choice is now regulated as well as designed. From 1 January 2027, chillers above 12 kW may not be placed on the EU market with a refrigerant whose global warming potential is 750 or more, unless safety rules on site require it. Air handlers, rear door coolers, liquid to liquid CDUs and dry coolers hold no fluorinated gas themselves; the rule reaches the chiller or condensing unit behind them.
What gets specified
| Parameter | Typical options | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment | CRAH, CRAC, in row, rear door, CDU, chiller, dry cooler | Room layout and rack density |
| Capacity | kW per unit and in total, at stated temperatures | The IT load and growth |
| Rack density | kW per rack | Air or liquid cooling, and the CDU size |
| Coolant | Water, glycol water, dielectric fluid | The rack platform and the facility water |
| Heat transfer | Chilled water, direct expansion, direct liquid | Plant and rack design |
| Temperatures | Supply and return air or water | The design envelope |
| CDU loop | Flow in l/min, approach temperature | The liquid cooled racks |
| Redundancy | N+1, 2N | The availability design |
Refrigerant limits for new equipment in the EU and Northern Ireland
| Equipment | Prohibited from | Refrigerants with global warming potential |
|---|---|---|
| Chillers above 12 kW | 1 January 2027 | 750 or more |
| Self contained air conditioning, 12 to 50 kW | 1 January 2027 | 150 or more |
| Self contained air conditioning above 50 kW | 1 January 2030 | 150 or more |
| Split air conditioning above 12 kW | 1 January 2029; 1 January 2033 | 750 or more; then 150 or more |
Regulation (EU) 2024/573, Annex IV, points 7, 8 and 9, placing on the market; each carries an exception where safety requirements on site rule out lower warming potential refrigerants.
Great Britain runs its own F gas rules
Regulation (EU) 2024/573 does not apply in Great Britain. GB F gas law is the assimilated Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 with technical amendments, while Northern Ireland follows the EU regulation under the Windsor Framework, so the table above binds a site in Belfast but not one in Leeds.
The GB regulation has its own bans. Stationary refrigeration using HFCs with a global warming potential of 2,500 or more has been banned since 2020, and single split air conditioning holding less than 3 kg with a potential of 750 or more since 2025. Defra consulted on further HFC measures from November to December 2025; state the destination, and the quotation names the rule the equipment offered meets.
What we need to quote
- Equipment type and number of units
- Capacity per unit and in total, in kW
- Supply and return temperatures, or the CDU flow and approach
- Heat rejection: chilled water, direct expansion or free cooling
- Redundancy, and any refrigerant the specification fixes
- Destination, so the right F gas regime is applied: EU, Northern Ireland or Great Britain
Building or expanding a facility?
Send the whole equipment schedule as one project, each item with its own requirements.