For a data center’s engineering infrastructure, it is not enough to confirm that equipment starts up and runs according to the parameters stated in its datasheet. It is far more important to understand whether the chosen solution suits a specific facility, operates stably across different modes, and meets the conditions of future operation.
That is why, for IXcellerate, factory testing is a continuation of the data center design stage. It makes it possible to verify how precisely the engineering solution meets project requirements before the system is comissioned.
Requirements are set at the design stage
IXcellerate R&D center is responsible for the energy efficiency and reliability of engineering infrastructure throughout the entire life cycle, from technical specification to operation. Requirements for the cooling system are defined during the design stage. The area and load-bearing capacity of the roof, the building structure, the site layout and the declared loads determine the equipment size and its placement.
«For us, the factory laboratory is the entry point for every project: the place where we and the manufacturer start speaking the same language».
Dmitry Filimonov
Deputy technical director, IXcellerate.
At the factory, the team confirms that the chosen solution truly meets the specification, rather than merely coming close to it.
What is tested in the factory laboratory
On the test bench, engineers check the readings of all sensors to establish their actual accuracy. They also monitor the parameters of working fluids and units, including coolant density. Without this check, there is nothing to compare later on-site measurements against. Any discrepancy could be attributed either to the equipment or to the metrology.
Testing almost never ends with just a report. During the process, IXcellerate specialists work together with the distributor’s and the factory’s teams to:
- discuss the design features of the equipment;
- find ways to eliminate physical defects in individual components;
- adjust operating algorithms.
This is a normal engineering process. Series-produced machines are built without reference to a specific data center, so any customization requires control tests. Every additional component changes the circuit’s resistance and, therefore, the final performance.
On-site for every test: why engineer presence matters
IXcellerate considers it mandatory for own engineers to be present at the factory throughout the entire testing period. For example, chillers are observed in three modes: free cooling, compressor, and mixed. These tests reveal what the final report does not show:
- how components behave during transitions between modes;
- where deviations from calculated values occur;
- how stably parameters hold under prolonged load.
When deviations occur, and also based on the analysis of the results, the team provides recommendations for adjusting and updating component settings.
Energy efficiency: two horizons and mode switching
Before testing begins and after it is completed, engineers separately work out possible configurations and energy efficiency strategies. This is done across two horizons:
- average annual consumption;
- operation under peak loads.
These are different optimization tasks. A configuration that wins in one is not always optimal in the other.
Mode switching is worked out separately. It directly determines how many hours per year the machine will spend in energy-saving mode. The team needs more than proof that the machine works; it needs a description of the correct sequences:
- at what outdoor air temperatures the transition occurs;
- in what order components are switched on and off;
- how the switching time can be reduced.
Operation and service
Equipment is evaluated not only by its functional performance. Ease of maintenance and repairability are just as important: how accessible the components requiring periodic replacement are, and what the actual labor intensity of the work is.
Already at the testing stage, IXcellerate’s in-house service team studies the documentation and receives training from factory specialists on the specific batch. This makes it possible to refine algorithms jointly and to work through operating scenarios in advance, including emergency ones.
Predictive analytics is part of this as well. Differential pressure sensors make it possible to monitor condenser fouling before it leads to an emergency chiller shutdown. As a result:
- the maintenance schedule becomes more accurate, because work is performed based on actual condition rather than the calendar;
- equipment service life increases;
- ultimately, all of this supports meeting SLAs to clients.
