Essential Tools for Every Refrigeration Technician: A Comprehensive Review
Are you intrigued by the inner workings of refrigeration systems and the vital role they play in our everyday lives? Whether you’re an aspiring refrigeration technician or a seasoned pro, understanding the tools of the trade is essential.
In this comprehensive review, we delve into the top tools that every refrigeration mechanic should have in their arsenal. These tools are not mere conveniences; they are the very instruments that empower technicians to diagnose, repair, and maintain refrigeration systems efficiently and effectively.
1. Manifold Gauge Set: Refrigeration mechanics rely on manifold gauge sets to simultaneously measure high and low side pressures in refrigeration systems. These sets are like the eyes of the technician, providing critical insights into the system’s condition. By providing real-time data, refrigerant gauges are essential for diagnosing issues and ensuring optimal system performance.
2. Vacuum Pump: A vacuum pump may seem unassuming, but its role is monumental. It evacuates air and moisture from refrigeration systems before the introduction of refrigerant, ensuring that the system operates efficiently without unwanted contaminants.
3. Leak Detection Tools: Finding elusive refrigerant leaks is a challenge without the right tools. Leak detection tools, including electronic detectors and bubble solutions, play a crucial role in environmental protection and system efficiency by pinpointing these leaks.
4. Digital Multimeter: An HVACR technician’s electrical diagnostic prowess relies heavily on a digital multimeter. This tool measures voltage, current, and resistance in electrical components, making it indispensable for troubleshooting electrical issues.
5. Pipe Cutters and Flaring Tools: Copper pipes are the lifeblood of many refrigeration systems, and pipe cutters and flaring tools ensure these essential components are accurately cut and shaped for the job.
6. Pipe Benders: The importance of smooth, kink-free bends in copper pipes cannot be overstated. Pipe benders are the secret to achieving these precise bends without compromising the integrity of the pipe.
7. Thermometers and Thermocouples: When it comes to temperature measurement, accuracy is key. Thermometers and thermocouples help technicians monitor temperatures at various points in the system, assisting in both diagnostics and cooling optimization.
8. Tubing Tools: Properly preparing tubing for installation is a fundamental step in any refrigeration project. Tubing tools, such as deburrers and reamers, ensure that tubing is ready for action.
9. Hex Key Set: Hexagonal screws and bolts are commonplace in refrigeration systems. A set of hex keys is a technician’s trusty companion for swiftly disassembling and reassembling components.
10. Oil Pump and Oil Injector: Lubricating oil is the lifeblood of compressors. Oil pumps and injectors ensure that the compressor functions optimally by delivering the right amount of lubrication.
11. Torque Wrench: Precision matters in refrigeration systems. Torque wrenches guarantee that bolts and nuts are tightened to precise specifications, safeguarding components and maintaining proper seals.
12. Digital Scale: In the intricate world of refrigeration, precision is paramount. This is where a digital scale steps in as a silent but indispensable partner for refrigeration mechanics. Why? Because refrigerants, lubricants, and various chemicals must be added to systems with meticulous accuracy.
A digital scale ensures that the right quantities are added, helping maintain the system’s efficiency, performance, and, perhaps most importantly, the environment. It’s not just about getting the job done; it’s about getting it done right, and that’s where the digital scale shines. So, let’s weigh in on the importance of this often-overlooked tool in the refrigeration technician’s toolkit.
These tools are the cornerstone of any refrigeration technician’s toolkit. Stay tuned as we dive deeper into each of these essential instruments, unveiling the art and science behind their usage, and why they’re indispensable for refrigeration technicians around the globe.
In this article we’ll answer a question that we get all the time. What filter, if any, can filter out the SARS-CoV-2 virus which leads to COVID-19, the disease? We’ll show you how efficient the different air filters are at filtering out various items for asthma and allergy sufferers, and the virus that leads to COVID-19.
If you prefer to watch the Video of this presentation, then scroll to the bottom or click on the following link. Air Filters vs COVID-19
The ability of an air filter to remove microorganism, dust, pollen, dust mites, mold spores, pet dander, bacteria and viruses is indicated by a numerical value. This number, which is indicated as a MERV rating, states the filter’s efficiency at removing various sizes of these items. We’ll show you which filters, if any, work the best to protect you from these potentially harmful organisms.
MERV Rating
Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values, or MERVs, indicate the filter’s ability to capture larger particles, those 0.3 microns and larger. The higher the numerical rating, the greater the air filter is at removing particles from the air stream. A MERV-13 is better than a MERV-11 filter at removing particles, but how good are they against bacteria and a very small virus that leads to COVID-19.
Virus and Bacteria Removal
According to ASHRAE, research has shown that the particle size of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that leads to COVID-19 is around 0.1 microns. This is much smaller than what may be picked up by these air filters. As this chart shows, the virus lives in the invisible region, while others like dust, cat dander and human hair are visible to the human eye.
Sizes of various items shown in Microns. Invisible items in black area on chart, including the SARS-CoV-2 Virus.
Luckily, the SARS-CoV-2 virus doesn’t travel through the air own its own. It rides on respiratory droplets and droplet nuclei (dried respiratory droplets) that are predominately 1 micron in size and larger. These filters have various efficiencies at capturing the viruses that are in the 1-to-3-micron range according to ASHRAE.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus riding a respiratory droplet in the 1 to 3 micron range
ASHRAE
As the chart shows, ASHRAE recommends using a minimum of a MERV 13 filter, which is at least 85% efficient at capturing particles in the 1 to 3-micron size range. A MERV 14 filter is at least 90% efficient at capturing those same particles. High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are even more efficient at filtering human-generated infectious aerosols.
MERV Rating and Air Filter Efficiency for Particle sizes 1 to 3 microns in size
By definition, a HEPA air filter must be at least 99.97% efficient at capturing particles 0.3 micron in size. This 0.3-micron particle approximates the most penetrating particle size (MPPS) through the filter. HEPA filters are even more efficient at capturing particles larger AND smaller than the MPPS. Thus, HEPA air filters are more than 99.97% efficient at capturing airborne viral particles associated with SARS-CoV-2 which leads to COVID-19.
HEPA filters can capture and trap microorganisms, including viruses and bacteria, helping to reduce the risk of respiratory infections. So, if possible, use the highest MERV rated air filter with your system, or get a portable HEPA air filter for your room or office. HEPA filters are the most efficient at capturing small microorganisms like the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Where are HEPA Filters used?
HEPA air filters are used in residential, commercial, and industrial facilities. In homes there are portable types that can be moved from room to room, and others that can be installed in a central air conditioning system serving the whole house.
HEPA air filters are also used along with ULPA filters in cleanrooms, labs, and other spaces requiring a very clean environment.
Asthma and Allergy Management
For individuals with asthma, HEPA filters help reduce asthma triggers like airborne irritants and respiratory allergens. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), nearly 26 million people have asthma in the United States. There are 4.8 million children under the age of 18, and nearly 21 million adults suffering from asthma. On average, 10 people in the unites States die every day from asthma. A total of 3,517 deaths in 2021.
According to the AAFA over 100 million people each year in the United States experience various types of allergies. Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic illness in the U.S. HEPA filters are highly effective at removing allergens such as pollen, dust mites, and pet dander, providing relief to allergy sufferers.
Editorial Process:
Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which can provide compensation to the MEPAcademy at no cost to you if you decide to purchase. Our reviews and articles are made by an industry professional experienced in the engineering and construction of commercial buildings.
Are you paying too much for your HVAC equipment? How do you know if the quote you received for your equipment is a fair price? Do you have a method of comparing what you have paid for various HVAC equipment with what is being quoted currently?
Keeping track of the cost of HVAC Equipment allows you to quickly provide budgets and check the cost of equipment before you purchase. This database allows you to easily keep track of the most common HVAC equipment.
HVAC Equipment Cost Database
Using an HVAC Equipment cost database will save you a lot of money by avoiding the costly mistake of paying too much for equipment.
Air Conditioners in Historical Pricing HVAC Equipment Database
The HVAC Equipment Cost database keeps track of all your equipment quotes or purchases for easy reference and parametric checks, such as cost per ton ($/Ton), cost per CFM ($/CFM)
For an HVAC Piping Estimators the need for quick budgets for the installation of piping is best handled with a spreadsheet of different material types and sizes. Having an estimating software program can make this process a lot easier, as the material pricing is always up to date and can be entered into the spreadsheet quickly. You can get a copy of this spreadsheet to help you price piping fast and efficiently.
HVAC Piping Unit Pricing Calculator
HVAC PIPING UNIT PRICING
Often the requirements of the RFP or bidding instructions will call for the price per foot to install piping beyond that which is required by the contract drawings. Such pricing maybe used for change-orders. Having these numbers available and updated often also gives you a quick reference for budgeting projects. It’s good to know when doing job site comparisons of different piping options or during discussions with engineering, what the cost is for the various piping sizes and types of materials.
HVAC Piping Unit Pricing Calculator for Copper and Carbon Steel from 1/2″ to 14″
COST PER FOOT
The cost per foot for the installation of piping needs to include fittings and hangers prorated into the value. It’s best to look at a standard length of pipe and then figure that you will have a Tee and 90 degree elbow in that length.
So for example, using twenty feet of copper water pipe with a Tee and 90 degree elbow plus the hangers to build a unit price would represent a field condition of a fitting every ten feet.
For higher density projects like Hospitals you could put more fittings in your unit pricing. Total those cost up and then divide by 20 to derive at a cost per foot for that particular size and material type.
20 feet of pipe + 2 Fittings + 3 Hangers / 20 = Cost per Foot
If the piping is insulated, you can also put the values in for insulation.
The Estimating Wizard provides two spreadsheets for tracking unit pricing, one for HVAC Piping and the other for Plumbing piping. Get a copy and start tracking your cost per foot, or be prepared to give a quick budget based on your knowledge from your spreadsheet of unit prices. Watch the video below to see how quick and easy it is to track the cost per foot for various sizes and material types.
MEP Academy HVAC Piping Unit Pricing Spreadsheet
The MEP Academy provides a spreadsheet that makes calculating unit pricing simple. The spreadsheet is available by following this link, HVAC Piping Unit Pricing Spreadsheet
HVAC Piping Unit Pricing Calculator Example
In the screenshot above there is a place for you to build your hanger requirements (#1), and a place to put your tax rate and hourly labor rate (#2).
For each size of pipe and material type you would insert the unit cost for Material (#3) and Labor (#4).
Under item (#5) you would build your typical run of pipe and enter the quantity of fittings you might expect for the type of building and system. You would add whatever you think will be required for every so many feet of pipe. In the example above we are showing that for every 20 feet of pipe you will have 1 Elbow and 1 Reducing Tee.
Under item (#6) you would add the cost per lineal foot for insulation if required. You could also look at insulation as a separate value and leave the pipe bare.
Line item (#7) is where you indicate the hanger spacing, and for each hanger you defined under item (#1) you will get the quantity as defined by the linear feet in item (#5) divided by your hanger spacing, which will affect your cost.
Line item (#8) is the calculated cost per linear foot of piping for that size and material type of pipe.
Summary Sheet
After you have all your unit pricing information inputted into the spreadsheet, all you have to do to get a budget for installing piping is to enter the quantity of piping (#9) for each size and material type (#10). The system will automatically calculate the cost (#11) to install that run of piping based on your unit pricing data. The total cost will be shown at the top of the spreadsheet (#12).
The proper sizing and layout of condensate drain lines is important for the protection of property and for the proper functioning of the air conditioning equipment.
If you prefer to watch our YouTube version of this presentation, scroll to the bottom.
Condensate Drain Pipe Sizing
The size required for the condensate pipe is dictated by the local code. Enclosed you will find the requirements for many local codes, but be sure to check your code for your local requirements. If the outlet size of the equipment’s condensate drain is larger than what’s shown in this chart then your required to use the larger outlet size.
Minimum Condensate Drain Pipe Sizing Chart
Slope to be at least 1/8” per foot or 1 percent, that is for every 12” horizontally there must be at least an 1/8” drop vertically.
Condensate drain piping to slope a minimum of 1/8″ per every 12″ horizontal
Attics or Furred Spaces
If the Air Conditioner is suspended above an inaccessible ceiling, such as a gypsum board ceiling or attic space then you will need to provide a means for protecting the building elements from the overflow of the primary drain and for indicating that there is a leak.
Also, drain pans that are poorly drained can cause water to stay in the pan risking the possibility of algae and bacteria growth. Below are some possible solutions, but as always check your local code for the approved method.
Option 1 – Secondary drain pan with drain piping. This would hang below the Air Conditioning unit in case the A/C units primary pan overflowed. Also, there is a requirement to provide secondary drain piping to a point of termination that would provide notification to the occupants that there is a leak, such as terminating above a window or doorway.
Option 1 – Secondary drain pan with piping terminating in observable location
Option 2 – An additional drain pipe connection that sits above the primary drain connection and whereby the secondary drain piping terminates in a location to alert the occupants of the clogged primary drain.
Option 2 – Secondary drain piping connection to primary drain pan
Option 3 – Leak detection device that automatically shuts down the Air Conditioner if the primary drain becomes clogged.
Option 3 – Primary drain with leak detection device
Option 4 – Secondary drain pan with leak detection, located beneath the coil that shuts down the unit upon a leak.
Option 4 – Secondary drain pan with leak detection
The additional drain pan or drain pan connection shall be provided with a drain pipe that will determinate in an observable area, such as in front a window or above a doorway, and be of a size not less than 3/4”. Secondary drain pan shall not be less than 1-1/2” in height and extend 3” wider on each side of the coil or AC unit.
Secondary drain piping terminating above window. Pipe doesn’t have to be visible as shown.
Drain Termination
Where can and can’t you terminate the air conditioners condensate drain piping? There are several options where you can terminate the condensate drain line;
Indirect Drain
Condensate Pump to Indirect Drain
Drywell
Leach pits
Landscaped areas that are properly designed to handle the volume of condensate
To Properly designed stormwater treatment systems.
Indirect Drain
Lavatory tailpiece in the same tenant space as the air conditioner
Laundry standpipe
Janitors Sink
Inlet of Bathtub Overflow – Must be accessible
Collect and send to cooling tower (See description below)
Cooling Coil condensate to sink tailpiece.
The connection to a plumbing fixtures tailpiece has to be made within the same tenant space as the air conditioner cooling coil that is generating the condensate.
Drywell
A drywell can be used for the termination of your air conditioners condensate drain. Check your local code for the specifics, but generally it includes some or all of the following depending on whether it’s for residential or a commercial project:
A minimum size hole, such as 2 foot by 2 foot by 3 feet deep, or a round hole such as 12” diameter by 3 feet deep.
A minimum of 6” of soil or concrete shall provide cover above the rocks
Some form of barrier between the soil and the top of the drywell where the rock begins, such as building paper or plastic
Drywell to be filled with gravel or crushed rock, often with a stated minimum size rock such as 1 inch diameter
The termination of the condensate drain pipe shall connect indirectly to the drywell drain pipe.
The drywell drain pipe to be a minimum of 1-1/2” PVC or other approved material.
Drywell to be at least three feet away from the building structure or any footings.
Drywall for Air Conditioner Cooling Coil Condensate
There are various methods of providing drywells depending on the local code. There are prefabricated drywells that can be used and ones that are made by using a large diameter piece of PVC pipe or similar material.
Some codes will require you to collect the condensate from cooling coil drain pans and return it to the cooling tower if the equipment is served by a cooling tower and the total combined capacity of the HVAC cooling coils exceeds a certain amount like 65,000 btu/hr.
This is a water conservation measure, and there are some exceptions to this requirement, such as if the total capacity of the AC Equipment cooling coils are less than 10% of the total capacity of the cooling tower, or if the location of those AC Cooling coils are in a remote location, far from the tower.
Some locations where you can’t terminate condensate;
Public ways
Sidewalks
Driveways
Alleys
No termination of condensate on public area ways
Excluded from Code Requirements
Excluded from these codes are non-condensing type of equipment like radiant cooling panels that are designed to prevent condensate from occurring by keeping the temperature of the chilled water above the dew point temperature/vapor pressure of the surrounding air. These are system designed to operate in sensible cooling only modes.
Piping Material
The material types that can be used for condensate drain piping varies by jurisdiction but the most commonly cited materials are:
Copper
PVC – DWV
CPVC
ABS – DWV
Polyethylene
Galvanized steel
Cast iron.
Also the use of short radius 90-degree elbows are often prohibited. You can normally use standard fittings until you reach a certain size at which point you might be required to use drainage pattern fittings (DWV)
Traps
Traps are to be installed as required per the manufactures recommendation. No traps are required on the secondary drain pan, this is to allow immediate notification that the primary drain has failed.
Cleanouts
Cleanouts are required in case of plugged drain pipes. Provide as required to prevent the need to cut drain pipes for unplugging. Some of the following maybe used for cleanouts if approved by your local code authority;
Plugged tees
Union connections
Short clamped hoses at the unit (see image above)
When you have more than one air conditioning unit condensate tied to a main condensate pipe, then every change of direction shall have some method of cleanout. Check your local code as this maybe a requirement for even a single air conditioners condensate piping.
Condensate Pumps
Condensate pumps can be used to elevate the condensate vertically to a point where it will then discharge into a code approved gravity sloping condensate drain line. The condensate pump should be interlocked with the Air Conditioning Unit to prevent its operations if the condensate pump is inoperable.
Please remember that code requirements are always changing, so check for the most current code in your area at the time of design and installation. Or ask an inspector for the current installation practice.
Having an MEP Academy Estimating Spreadsheet that automates portions of your estimates, will save you valuable time that could be used to make more sales. All aspects of the cost of furnishing and installing an HVAC and/or a Plumbing system is contained in one spreadsheet made specifically for the MEP industry. For plumbing only see below.
For a Plumbing only Spreadsheet, use this Commercial & Residential Version. Plumbing Only. For a simple Residential HVAC & Plumbing Spreadsheet. Residential version.
Dashboard
The Main Dashboard provides you with all the information you need to make a quick decision on whether to make further adjustments, or if one of the metrics looks out of place based on historical data. The Dashboard gives you a quick overview of all that is going on within the Estimating Spreadsheet.
Estimating Dashboard within the MEP Academy Estimating Spreadsheet
Your MEP Academy Estimating Spreadsheet needs to be able to handle rental equipment, general conditions, subcontractors, piping and plumbing takeoffs, sheet metal, labor rate tables with crew mix capabilities, , and a bid summary. Each sheet in the estimating spreadsheet automatically calculates the values you enter, showing you a new total bid amount.
Will cover portions of the MEP AcademyEstimating Spreadsheet starting at the back of the Excel spreadsheet and working our way toward the front summary page last.
Choose your crew mix based on the level of experience and the different pay scales based on each project. Pick any combination and quantity of tradesman based on the requirements of the project.
Labor Rates and Crew Size within the MEP Academy Estimating Spreadsheet
There is a separate crew labor rate for HVAC Piping Shop & Field, Sheet Metal Shop & Field, and Plumbing.
Enter the project equipment price and labor to rig the HVAC and Plumbing equipment into place. Compare supplier pricing easily side by side. The MEP Academy Estimating Spreadsheet automatically selects the lowest bidder but lets you override that decision.
HVAC Equipment page within the Estimating SpreadsheetHVAC & Plumbing Equipment Sheets
Do you need a jobsite trailer or onsite management? Enter the quantity and level of the staff required to run the project, whether one person or dozens. Set the quantity and duration of each general condition, along with the rate. General Conditions is broken down into three sections as follows: #1 – Management, #2 – Construction Office (Non-Reoccurring Expenses), and #3 – Construction Office (Reoccurring Expenses).
HVAC & Plumbing contractors often subcontract out for Air & Water Balance, Sheet Metal & Piping Insulation, Water Treatment, Building Automation, Excavation and other specialty trades that they don’t self-perform. This spreadsheet was made especially for the HVAC & Plumbing contractor and their most often used subcontractors.
For those contractors that do plumbing the following Plumbing Fixture sheet will give you a place to record your vendors quotes and the labor it takes to install each type of fixture. What is also revealed is the overall cost per fixture.
Plumbing Fixtures page within the Estimating Spreadsheet
Each trade has a specialty sheet for those items that aren’t considered equipment or a fixture, but for which there is a cost impact. The MEP Academy Estimating Spreadsheet includes Sheet Metal, HVAC Piping & Plumbing Specialty sheets.
HVAC and Plumbing Specialty Pages within the Estimating SpreadsheetSpecialty Sheets in Estimate Spreadsheet
Material & Labor Summary Sheets
You will find a Sheet Metal, HVAC Piping & Plumbing material & labor summary sheets where all of the other specialty sheets are summarized for your review and last minute edits. Each sheet will be divided between field & shop fabrication work. The first section covers the field installation items.
Sheet Metal Material and Labor Summary – Estimating Spreadsheet
Each of the field labor summary sheets contain a row to add for the following
Material Handling
Consumables
Punch List
Cleanup
Detailing
Supervision
Shop Fabrication Summary Section
For those of you that have a fabrication shop, there is a section to add material and labor.
Shop Fabrication Summary
Rentals
For those HVAC air conditioning and Plumbing projects that require a crane, fork lift, scissor lift or any other equipment that you don’t own but will be required on the project. Having a spreadsheet that maintains a list of the most common equipment you normally rent along with their rental rate will save you time and money while avoiding having to call for pricing on every job.
Rental Sheet in Estimating Spreadsheet
Engineering
If you do your own design then you should have a sheet of each of the personnel responsible for spending time on the engineering task. If you’re doing design/build work, but don’t do the engineering yourself, but hire a third party, then you should add some engineering review time. It’s your responsibility to manage your third-party engineer to make sure they design within your cost parameters.
All of your estimates are summarized on the last tab of the MEP Academy Estimating Spreadsheet for easy review. You can quickly scan each of the categories to see where all the project cost has shown up. There is the labor and material summary for HVAC Sheet Metal, HVAC Piping, and Plumbing and another section for Subcontractors, General Conditions, Rentals, etc.
Estimating Spreadsheet Summary PageMEP Academy Estimating Spreadsheet Summary
The MEP Academy Estimating Spreadsheet contains a bid risk assessment form that rates the success of winning any particular project that you are contemplating pursuing. The risk assessment form will help you determine if the project is worth bidding based on a set of questions that rate your answers.
Bid Risk Assessment
The answers to these questions will give you a score from which you can use to see how the project rates on a scale of risk and reward. The total risk assessment score will also inform you which level of approval is required within your company depending on how you rate your risk values as the example shown below. The total score is 25, which according to this contractor would require the Vice President to sign-off on the project or approve the decision to pursue bidding on the project.
The MEP Academy Estimating Spreadsheet is used to gather all the information for estimating a project, putting it into a format where you can make quick adjustments and decisions while the spreadsheet gives you an immediate update on the price.
Purchase this spreadsheet at its currently reduced price of ONLY $245.00, which usually sells for $599.00
Watch the YouTube video below to see the MEP Academy Estimating Spreadsheet in action.
Converting an existing high-rise office building into residential condominiums creates an unusual HVAC design challenge.
An office building may have originally been designed around relatively large HVAC zones, centralized air distribution, and equipment serving an entire floor or substantial portions of a floor. Residential condominiums require something very different. Each residence needs individual temperature control, different operating schedules, appropriate ventilation, and an HVAC system that can be maintained without unnecessarily affecting neighboring residences.
In this case study, we will examine an eight-story office building being converted into residential condominiums. The existing building uses a condenser-water system with a large floor-mounted water-source heat pump serving each floor.
Rather than abandoning that infrastructure, we will compare two approaches that can potentially reuse the existing condenser-water system:
Both approaches can provide individual residential zoning. Both can use a central condenser-water loop. And both can potentially take advantage of substantial portions of the building’s existing mechanical infrastructure.
But beyond those similarities, they become very different HVAC systems.
The differences involve much more than equipment efficiency. Refrigerant distribution, condenser-water piping, ceiling space, ventilation, controls, serviceability, refrigerant concentration, central plant operation, energy consumption, and construction cost all become part of the decision.
Most importantly, when we developed a construction budget for a similar project, the difference in installed cost was significant.
And much of that difference was found not simply in the equipment, but in the distribution systems required to connect that equipment to every residence.
The Existing High-Rise HVAC System
For our case study, imagine an eight-story commercial office building being converted into residential condominiums.
The existing HVAC system consists of a large floor-mounted water-source heat pump on each floor. For purposes of our example, assume each floor originally had approximately 50 tons of cooling capacity.
The individual floor units are connected to a common condenser-water system. The building also contains the infrastructure normally associated with such a system, potentially including:
Condenser-water supply and return risers
Condenser-water pumps
Fluid coolers or cooling towers
A boiler or other means of adding heat to the loop when required
Central plant controls
Existing outside-air distribution
This infrastructure has substantial value.
If it is in suitable condition and has adequate capacity, reusing it may avoid replacing major portions of the central mechanical plant.
However, the original floor-by-floor zoning strategy no longer works once the office space is divided into individual residences.
Each condominium needs independent temperature control.
That is the fundamental problem our two proposed HVAC systems need to solve.
The existing office building uses large floor-mounted water-source heat pumps connected to a common condenser-water system. The office-to-condominium conversion requires replacing the original floor-level zoning with individual HVAC control for each residence.
Start With the Loads, Not the Equipment
Before deciding between VRF and water-source heat pumps, an engineer needs to determine what the converted building actually requires.
Changing a building from commercial offices to residential condominiums changes many of the variables that influence heating and cooling loads.
These can include:
Occupancy density and schedules
Lighting loads
Plug and appliance loads
Outdoor-air requirements
Exterior exposure
Interior zoning
Solar loads
Operating schedules
Kitchen and residential equipment loads
Exhaust requirements
Diversity between individual spaces
Each condominium therefore needs its own heating and cooling load calculation.
The engineer must also evaluate the coincident peak load for each floor and ultimately the entire building.
This leads to an important point:
Existing HVAC capacity is not the same thing as the new building load.
If the original floor-mounted heat pump was 50 tons, that does not mean the converted residential floor necessarily requires 50 tons.
The existing equipment provides useful information about the original HVAC design, but it does not establish the load for a completely different occupancy and space configuration.
New loads should be calculated based on the proposed residential use.
Once those loads have been established, we can begin evaluating the two HVAC strategies.
Option 1: Water-Cooled VRF
The first alternative is a water-cooled VRF heat-recovery system.
Most people are familiar with air-cooled VRF systems where outdoor condensing units are located on a roof or outside the building.
Water-cooled VRF works differently.
Instead of rejecting and absorbing heat directly through outdoor air, the VRF modules exchange heat with the building’s condenser-water loop.
That means the modules can often be installed indoors in mechanical rooms.
For our example, the system might consist of several modular water-cooled VRF units serving each floor. If approximately 7-ton modules were used, multiple modules could be combined to provide the required floor capacity.
The exact module arrangement would ultimately depend on the calculated loads and the selected manufacturer’s allowable equipment combinations.
This configuration creates an important opportunity in an existing building:
The existing condenser-water risers may potentially be reused.
The condenser-water system supplies the VRF modules. From there, however, the distribution system changes completely.
Instead of distributing condenser water to each residence, the VRF system distributes refrigerant.
Section view of the water-cooled VRF concept, with modular VRF equipment located in the mechanical room and refrigerant distributed to individual fan-coil units serving the condominiums.
Distributing Refrigerant Throughout the Floor
From the water-cooled VRF modules, refrigerant piping travels throughout the floor.
For a heat-recovery VRF system, the refrigerant piping connects to branch or selector boxes strategically located within the building.
For our conceptual design, we considered six-port selector boxes, with each selector box potentially serving several condominium zones.
From those boxes, individual refrigerant branches continue to the indoor fan-coil units serving the residences.
This provides extremely flexible zoning.
Typical floor layout for the water-cooled VRF option. Refrigerant is distributed from the VRF modules through heat-recovery selector boxes to individual fan-coil units serving each condominium.
One condominium can require cooling while another requires heating.
With an appropriately designed heat-recovery VRF system, energy can potentially be transferred between zones rather than simply being rejected through the condenser-water system.
This simultaneous heating and cooling capability is one of VRF’s major attractions.
In a heat-recovery VRF system, refrigerant is distributed through corridor-mounted selector boxes to individual fan-coil units serving each condominium.
The VRF Refrigerant Piping Network
The advantages of VRF come with a more sophisticated refrigerant distribution system.
Refrigerant piping must travel from the VRF modules to selector boxes and from those selector boxes to the individual indoor units.
The designer must consider factors such as:
Refrigerant pipe sizing
Manufacturer-specific branch fittings
Equivalent piping length
Maximum allowable piping lengths
Vertical separation
Refrigerant charge
Oil return
Allowable indoor-unit combinations
Insulation
Pipe supports
Access to selector boxes
Pressure testing
Evacuation and commissioning
These requirements become particularly important in an existing high-rise.
Routing is not an abstract engineering exercise. There must physically be enough room above the ceilings to install everything.
The refrigerant piping has to coexist with plumbing, electrical conduit, cable trays, fire sprinkler piping, ventilation ductwork, structural members, and other existing utilities.
Rated wall penetrations also need to be coordinated and appropriately protected.
Selector boxes need locations that provide both piping access and sufficient service clearance.
A technically sound VRF design can become difficult or expensive if the building does not provide practical pathways for the refrigerant distribution system.
Refrigerant Quantity and Occupied Spaces
There is another important issue with VRF systems: refrigerant quantity.
A large VRF system can contain a substantial refrigerant charge, and portions of that interconnected refrigerant system serve occupied spaces.
The designer therefore needs to evaluate the applicable mechanical and refrigeration codes, the refrigerant being used, the volume of the occupied spaces, the system configuration, and the amount of refrigerant that could potentially be released into a particular space under the applicable design scenario.
This analysis can influence decisions involving:
System zoning
Refrigerant circuit size
Selector-box arrangements
Total refrigerant charge
Leak detection
Ventilation
Other mitigation measures where required
This issue can become particularly important in smaller residential spaces.
A small bedroom, for example, has considerably less room volume than a large open office area.
For that reason, refrigerant concentration analysis should be incorporated into the system design process rather than performed only after the refrigerant piping layout has been completed.
The results can potentially affect the architecture of the VRF system itself.
VRF Controls
VRF is also a highly integrated controls platform.
Indoor units, selector boxes, outdoor or water-cooled modules, electronic expansion valves, sensors, and controllers communicate as part of the system.
Individual residences can have local temperature controllers while a supervisory controller provides broader system monitoring.
Where appropriate, gateways may also allow integration with a building automation system.
This provides sophisticated control, but it also means troubleshooting can require technicians familiar with:
Refrigeration
Electronic expansion valves
Communication networks
Inverter-driven compressors
Manufacturer-specific controllers
Diagnostic software
This should be considered when evaluating the long-term maintenance strategy for the property.
Option 2: Individual Water-Source Heat Pumps
The second alternative takes a fundamentally different approach.
Instead of distributing refrigerant throughout the floor, we distribute condenser water.
The existing large floor-mounted heat pump is removed, and the condenser-water supply and return piping is extended throughout the floor.
Each condominium receives its own horizontal water-source heat pump.
These units can often be installed above a ceiling or in another accessible service location.
Each residence now has its own:
Compressor
Refrigerant circuit
Fan
Controls
Condenser-water connection
Condensate connection
The refrigerant remains primarily within the individual packaged heat pump.
The distribution system outside the equipment is primarily water.
Section view of the individual water-source heat-pump concept, with each condominium served by its own heat pump connected to the building's common condenser-water loop.
Condenser-Water Distribution
The existing condenser-water risers can potentially remain in service.
New horizontal supply and return mains would then extend from those risers across each floor.
Branches connect the mains to the individual heat pumps.
Typical floor layout for the water-source heat-pump option. Condenser-water supply and return piping is distributed throughout the floor to individual horizontal heat pumps serving each condominium.
A typical installation may include components such as:
Isolation valves
Flow-control or balancing devices
Strainers where required
Flexible connections
Control valves
Service access
Appropriate pipe supports
The designer must verify that the existing pumps and distribution system can accommodate the proposed flow rates and pressure requirements.
For preliminary planning, conventional water-loop heat-pump systems are often encountered around 2.5 to 3.0 GPM per ton, although actual design flow should always be based on the selected equipment and manufacturer’s performance data.
Using 3 GPM per ton as a simple conceptual example, a 50-ton connected load would represent approximately 150 GPMat full design flow.
However, the entire building does not necessarily need to operate continuously at full connected flow.
That becomes important when we discuss pumping energy.
Both Systems Still Need the Central Condenser-Water Plant
An important point in this comparison is sometimes overlooked.
Water-cooled VRF does not eliminate the condenser-water system.
Both of our alternatives rely on the building’s central condenser-water infrastructure.
Depending on the existing system and design, that may include:
Fluid coolers or cooling towers
Condenser-water pumps
Supply and return risers
Boiler or other heat-addition equipment
Water treatment
Central plant controls
The water-cooled VRF modules exchange heat with this loop.
The individual water-source heat pumps also exchange heat with the same loop.
Therefore, when comparing the two systems economically, we should not assign the fluid cooler and central pumps only to the water-source heat-pump option.
They are common infrastructure required by both alternatives in this case study.
Failure and Redundancy
System architecture also affects what happens when something fails.
With individual water-source heat pumps, a heat-pump failure generally affects one condominium.
The affected unit can be isolated, serviced, or replaced while neighboring residences continue operating, assuming the common condenser-water system remains available.
VRF is more interconnected.
Depending on the system architecture, a problem involving a common refrigerant circuit, selector box, communication system, or VRF module can potentially affect multiple indoor units.
Modular VRF equipment can provide some redundancy, but designers should still consider the failure domain of the system.
In a condominium building, this matters because a maintenance issue affecting several residences can be considerably more disruptive than replacing one packaged heat pump.
Serviceability
Individual water-source heat pumps are conceptually straightforward.
A typical unit has:
Water in
Water out
Electrical power
Condensate
Supply and return air
Local controls
Many commercial HVAC service companies are familiar with this equipment.
VRF requires a different skill set.
Technicians may need to understand inverter compressors, electronic expansion valves, refrigerant distribution, communication networks, selector boxes, sensors, and manufacturer-specific diagnostic procedures.
Neither approach is inherently unserviceable.
But the building owner should consider the availability and cost of qualified service personnel before selecting the system.
Ceiling Space: Different Problems, Not No Problems
It is tempting to assume that one option automatically solves the ceiling-space problem.
In reality, each system introduces different coordination requirements.
VRF generally uses smaller refrigerant piping compared with large condenser-water mains, which can be advantageous in congested ceiling spaces.
But VRF also introduces:
Multiple refrigerant lines
Insulation
Selector boxes
Service clearances
Numerous branch connections
The WSHP alternative requires larger condenser-water supply and return piping.
It also requires physical space for each individual heat pump and associated valves and accessories.
So the comparison is not simply:
Small piping versus large piping.
The real question is whether the building has appropriate space for the entire distribution and equipment strategy.
Condensate Drainage
Condensate drainage is one area where the two alternatives are relatively similar.
Both VRF indoor units and horizontal water-source heat pumps produce condensate during cooling.
Because the building is being converted into condominiums, plumbing fixtures will already be distributed throughout the floor.
Where permitted by the plumbing design and applicable code, condensate can potentially be routed to nearby approved plumbing connections, such as an appropriate connection associated with a sink.
This can be considerably simpler than routing every condensate line back to a central drain riser.
There is one additional consideration with VRF.
Depending on the manufacturer and selector-box design, certain heat-recovery components may also require condensate drainage.
That requirement should be verified for the specific equipment being selected.
Overall, however, condensate drainage probably would not be the deciding factor between these two systems.
Ventilation Air and the Existing Outside-Air Riser
Neither VRF nor individual water-source heat pumps eliminates the requirement for code-compliant outdoor ventilation.
In our existing building, however, there is another potentially valuable asset: an existing outside-air riser that previously supplied ventilation air to the original floor-mounted heat pumps.
Before installing an entirely new ventilation distribution system, the engineer should investigate whether this riser can be reused.
That evaluation should include:
Physical condition
Riser dimensions
Available airflow
Available static pressure
Existing leakage
New residential ventilation requirements
Proposed floor distribution
Fire and smoke requirements
If suitable, the existing riser could potentially become part of the new ventilation strategy.
Should We Consider a DOAS?
A Dedicated Outdoor Air System, or DOAS, should also be evaluated, particularly with the VRF alternative.
A DOAS can provide conditioned outdoor ventilation air to each condominium while the individual VRF or water-source heat-pump units handle the space heating and cooling loads.
Many VRF indoor units operate with relatively high sensible heat ratios. Depending on the selected equipment and operating conditions, their latent moisture-removal capability may be limited relative to the sensible cooling load.
That becomes important in a coastal environment such as San Diego, where outdoor ventilation air can contribute meaningful latent load.
A DOAS can condition and dehumidify the ventilation air before delivering it to the residences.
This allows the individual VRF fan coils to focus primarily on the space sensible loads.
The existing outside-air riser might even be reusable as part of the DOAS distribution system if its capacity, condition, and configuration are appropriate.
The same DOAS concept can also be evaluated with water-source heat pumps. It is not exclusive to VRF.
Fire and Life-Safety Coordination
An office-to-residential conversion changes much more than HVAC zoning.
New condominium walls, corridors, shafts, and rated separations can affect mechanical distribution throughout the building.
HVAC coordination may therefore involve:
Firestopping of piping penetrations
Rated shaft penetrations
Fire dampers where required
Smoke dampers where required
Access requirements
Corridor construction
Smoke-control systems where applicable
Coordination with the building’s overall fire-life-safety design
These requirements can influence both HVAC options and should be incorporated early in the design.
Installation and Construction Phasing
Existing-building projects also require careful sequencing.
Coordinating condensate, power, controls, and ventilation.
Pressure testing and evacuating the refrigerant piping.
Charging and commissioning the system.
The WSHP option would follow a different sequence:
Verify the existing condenser-water system.
Extend new supply and return mains throughout each floor.
Install branches to each residence.
Set the individual heat pumps.
Connect water, ductwork, condensate, electrical power, and controls.
Flush the piping system.
Balance and verify flow.
Commission the equipment.
The best solution may therefore depend partly on how the renovation is phased and how easily each distribution system can be installed within the existing structure.
What About Energy Consumption?
A simple statement that either VRF or WSHP is always more energy efficient would overlook how these systems actually operate.
Water-cooled VRF has several potential advantages.
Inverter-driven compressors can modulate capacity to match changing loads. Heat-recovery configurations can also transfer energy between zones when some residences require cooling while others require heating.
But the WSHP system has significant part-load opportunities of its own.
One important strategy is to install two-way control valves at the individual heat pumps.
When a heat pump does not require condenser-water flow, its valve can close.
As more units cycle off or require less operation, total condenser-water flow decreases.
If the central condenser-water pumps are equipped with variable-frequency drives, the pumps can respond to the reduced system demand by slowing down.
That can substantially reduce pumping energy during part-load operation.
The common water loop can also facilitate heat exchange within the building. Heat rejected into the loop by residences in cooling can help satisfy heat required by residences operating in heating before the central plant has to add or reject additional energy.
Therefore, both systems can have strong part-load strategies.
Determining which system uses less energy requires analysis of the complete building, including:
Equipment efficiencies
Load profiles
Condenser-water temperatures
Pumping strategy
Heat-rejection equipment
Heating requirements
Controls
Climate
Simultaneous heating and cooling
Building diversity
A building energy model would provide a much better answer than relying solely on generalized equipment-efficiency claims.
What Happened When We Priced the Two Systems?
This was one of the most interesting parts of our comparison.
On paper, water-cooled VRF was an attractive solution.
It offered individual zoning, modular equipment, sophisticated controls, heat recovery, and relatively compact refrigerant piping.
But when we developed an actual construction budget for a similar conversion, the VRF option was substantially more expensive than the individual water-source heat-pump approach.
Why?
A major reason was the distribution system.
The Cost of VRF Refrigerant Distribution
A high-rise VRF system requires a substantial network of refrigerant piping.
That network can include:
Large refrigerant mains
Horizontal refrigerant distribution
Vertical risers where applicable
Multiple pipe sizes
Manufacturer-specific branch fittings
Selector boxes
Refrigerant branches to every indoor unit
Pipe supports
Required insulation
Controls and communication wiring
Specialized installation procedures
Refrigerant pressure testing
Evacuation
Charging
Manufacturer-specific commissioning
None of those items is particularly surprising individually.
The issue is scale.
Repeat them across every condominium and every floor of a high-rise building, and the cost accumulates quickly.
Copper refrigerant piping is also a relatively expensive distribution medium, and the labor associated with installing, brazing, supporting, insulating, testing, evacuating, and commissioning a large refrigerant network can be substantial.
Why the WSHP Distribution System Was Less Expensive
The individual water-source heat-pump alternative still requires significant piping.
Each residence needs condenser-water supply and return connections along with valves, flow-control components, supports, and other hydronic accessories.
But this is fundamentally conventional hydronic distribution.
At typical condenser-water loop operating temperatures, this piping also may not require the same thermal insulation treatment as applicable VRF refrigerant lines, subject to the governing energy code, operating temperatures, condensation considerations, and project-specific requirements.
The WSHP design also eliminates the floor-wide refrigerant distribution network, VRF selector boxes, and much of the specialized refrigerant hardware connecting multiple residences.
The individual heat pumps still have refrigerant circuits, but those circuits are largely contained inside the packaged equipment.
That distinction had a meaningful impact on our construction budget.
First Cost Versus Life-Cycle Cost
Our construction budget showed a significant first-cost advantage for the individual water-source heat-pump system.
But first cost is not the entire economic analysis.
A complete life-cycle evaluation should also consider:
Annual energy consumption
Pumping energy
Central plant energy
Maintenance
Water treatment
Refrigerant service
Controls maintenance
Equipment replacement
Equipment life expectancy
Availability of replacement parts
Service labor
Future refrigerant requirements
Both systems offer opportunities for efficient part-load operation.
Therefore, determining the true life-cycle cost requires evaluating expenses over the expected life of the building rather than simply comparing construction bids.
For this project, however, first cost clearly favored the individual WSHP approach.
So Which System Would We Choose?
Both systems can work for this type of conversion.
Water-cooled VRF provides excellent zoning, modulation, and heat-recovery capabilities.
But based on our actual construction budget, the individual water-source heat-pump system had a significant first-cost advantage.
It also keeps the refrigerant primarily contained within each individual unit and provides relatively straightforward service and replacement at the condominium level.
VRF remains an attractive technology, but on this particular project, its advantages came with a substantially higher installed cost.
Ultimately, the appropriate choice depends on the building, available ceiling space, existing infrastructure, maintenance strategy, code requirements, energy goals, and project budget.
For this case study, the individual water-source heat-pump system made the stronger economic case.
The Bigger Lesson: Evaluate the Distribution System
Perhaps the most important lesson from this case study is that HVAC system selection should not be reduced to comparing equipment efficiencies or manufacturers’ brochures.
In a high-rise retrofit, the equipment may represent only part of the challenge.
The building must accommodate everything that connects that equipment together.
For water-cooled VRF, that means examining the complete refrigerant distribution network.
For individual water-source heat pumps, it means examining the condenser-water distribution system.
The designer needs to ask:
Can we physically route it?
How do we maintain it?
Can we isolate failures?
Will we be able to comply with the applicable refrigerant and life-safety requirements?
Can the existing central plant support it?
How will it operate at part load?
And what will the complete installed system actually cost?
Those questions often tell us more about the suitability of an HVAC system than the equipment efficiency rating alone.
When converting an existing office building into residential condominiums, the best HVAC solution is not necessarily the system with the newest technology.
It is the system that can be integrated into the existing building economically, operated efficiently, serviced effectively, and relied upon to provide comfortable conditions for the people who will live there for years to come.
Artificial intelligence is changing the way data centers are designed.
Traditional data centers already require substantial electrical and mechanical infrastructure, but AI introduces a new challenge: enormous amounts of computing power concentrated into a relatively small space.
Modern AI systems can connect thousands—or even tens of thousands—of Graphics Processing Units, or GPUs, into large computing clusters. These GPUs consume tremendous amounts of electricity, and almost all of that electrical energy eventually becomes heat that must be continuously removed.
That creates two fundamental engineering challenges:
How do you deliver enough electrical power to high-density GPU racks?
How do you remove the enormous amount of heat they generate?
Those two questions are driving major changes in data-center electrical distribution, cooling systems, controls, and even how data centers are constructed.
Why AI Data Centers Are Different
Traditional data centers rely heavily on CPUs—or Central Processing Units—to process information and run applications.
AI systems increasingly rely on GPUs—or Graphics Processing Units.
Unlike CPUs, GPUs are designed to perform huge numbers of calculations simultaneously. This parallel-processing capability makes them particularly effective for artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language models, and other computationally intensive workloads.
Instead of operating independently, GPUs can be connected through extremely high-speed networks to create enormous computing clusters.
AI GPU racks can concentrate substantially more computing power and electrical load into the same physical footprint as traditional server racks.
Modern rack-scale systems demonstrate just how concentrated this computing power has become. Some current systems combine dozens of GPUs into a single liquid-cooled rack, allowing the rack to operate almost like one enormous computing system.
But increased computing density creates increased power density and heat density.
The Power and Heat Density Problem
A traditional server rack might consume approximately 5 to 15 kilowatts, although rack loads vary considerably depending on the application.
High-density AI racks operate at a very different scale.
Modern GPU racks can require 40, 80, 100 kilowatts or more, and newer rack-scale AI systems can exceed 100 kW.
Consider a 100-kW GPU rack.
Almost all the electrical power consumed by the IT equipment ultimately becomes heat.
That means:
100 kW ≈ 341,000 BTU/hr
Converting that into familiar HVAC terminology:
341,000 BTU/hr ÷ 12,000 ≈ 28.4 tons of heat
That’s approximately 28 tons of heat from a single rack.
The challenge with AI data centers isn’t only the amount of heat generated—it’s the concentration of that heat within a relatively small footprint.
Put ten 100-kW racks together and you have approximately:
1 megawatt of IT load
3.41 million BTU/hr of heat
284 tons of heat
And all of it can be concentrated into a relatively small portion of the data hall.
The challenge isn’t simply the amount of heat.
It’s the concentration of that heat.
Getting Power to the GPUs
Before the heat can be removed, the electrical power first has to reach the computing equipment.
The basic electrical path through an AI data center is similar to other mission-critical data centers:
Utility → Transformers → Switchgear → UPS → Power Distribution → GPU Racks
Nearly all of the electrical energy consumed by IT equipment ultimately becomes heat that the cooling system must remove.
Backup generators, UPS systems, redundant electrical paths, and other systems help maintain operation when utility power or individual components fail.
What changes with AI is the scale and concentration of the electrical load.
A relatively short row of high-density GPU racks can represent megawatts of electrical demand. That affects transformers, switchgear, UPS capacity, busway, conductors, rack distribution, and ultimately the utility infrastructure serving the facility.
And every kilowatt delivered to the computing equipment creates approximately another kilowatt of heat that ultimately has to be removed.
AI data-center infrastructure must accomplish two things continuously: deliver enormous amounts of electrical power and remove the resulting heat.
Why Air Cooling Becomes More Difficult
Traditional data centers have relied primarily on air cooling.
Cool air enters the front of a server rack, passes through the equipment, absorbs heat, and leaves the rear of the rack as hot air.
Hot-aisle and cold-aisle arrangements help prevent these two air streams from mixing and improve cooling efficiency.
This remains an effective solution for many data centers.
The problem occurs as rack density increases.
Removing more heat with air requires moving increasingly large quantities of air through the equipment. That means greater airflow, larger cooling systems, more fan energy, and sufficient space to distribute all that air.
At very high rack densities, removing enough heat directly from the highest-powered processors with air becomes increasingly difficult.
The solution is to move the cooling medium closer to the heat source.
That’s where liquid cooling becomes particularly important.
Direct-to-Chip Liquid Cooling
One of the most important cooling technologies for high-density AI equipment is direct-to-chip liquid cooling.
Instead of relying entirely on air to remove heat, a cold plate is installed directly against high-heat components such as GPUs and CPUs.
Coolant flows through small passages inside the cold plate and absorbs heat directly from the processor.
The basic heat path becomes:
GPU/CPU → Cold Plate → Coolant → Rack Manifold
Supply and return manifolds distribute coolant to multiple servers within the rack.
Liquid is particularly effective because it can transport large quantities of heat without requiring the enormous airflow that would otherwise be necessary.
But liquid cooling doesn’t eliminate the heat.
It simply gives us a much more effective way to capture it and move it somewhere else.
What Is a Cooling Distribution Unit?
The next major component is the Cooling Distribution Unit, or CDU.
Think of the CDU as the bridge between the liquid cooling the computer equipment and the mechanical cooling system serving the building.
Warm coolant returning from the GPU racks enters the CDU and transfers its heat through a heat exchanger.
On the opposite side of that heat exchanger is the facility water system.
The two fluid circuits remain separated while heat passes between them.
A CDU can also contain components such as:
Pumps
Heat exchangers
Filters
Temperature sensors
Pressure sensors
Flow monitoring
Controls
Leak-detection systems
The cooling path can now be expanded:
GPU → Cold Plate → Rack Manifold → CDU → Facility Water System
But the heat still has to leave the building.
Getting the Heat Out of the Data Center
Once the heat reaches the facility water system, several types of mechanical equipment can ultimately reject it outdoors.
Depending on the facility, climate, water temperatures, and system design, this can include:
Chillers
Cooling towers
Dry coolers
Evaporative or adiabatic equipment
Economizer systems
Combinations of these technologies
One important advantage of some liquid-cooled systems is the potential to operate at warmer water temperatures than traditional chilled-water cooling.
Under suitable outdoor conditions, warmer water temperatures may allow heat to be rejected through dry coolers or other economizer strategies with reduced reliance on mechanical refrigeration.
The complete heat journey might therefore look something like this:
GPU → Cold Plate → Manifold → CDU → Facility Water → Heat Rejection Equipment → Outdoors
The exact equipment changes from one facility to another, but the objective remains the same:
Capture the heat, transport it efficiently, and reject it outside.
AI Data Centers Can Use Both Air and Liquid Cooling
Liquid cooling doesn’t necessarily eliminate air cooling.
Cold plates can capture heat directly from the highest-powered components, including GPUs and CPUs.
Other equipment within the servers and racks may still reject heat into the surrounding air, including:
Power supplies
Memory
Storage
Networking equipment
Other electronic components
This creates a hybrid cooling system.
Liquid handles the highest heat-density components while air cooling handles the remaining rack and room heat.
The exact split varies by equipment and system architecture.
The important concept is that liquid cooling captures a significant portion of the heat before that heat ever enters the data hall.
Other Liquid-Cooling Technologies
Direct-to-chip cooling isn’t the only liquid-cooling technology available.
Rear-Door Heat Exchangers
A liquid-cooled heat exchanger is installed directly behind the server rack.
Hot air leaving the servers passes through the heat exchanger, allowing much of the heat to be captured before it enters the data hall.
Immersion Cooling
Immersion cooling takes a completely different approach.
Computing equipment is submerged in a specially engineered dielectric fluid that doesn’t conduct electricity.
Heat transfers directly from the electronic components into the fluid and is then transported to the cooling system.
Each cooling method has advantages and limitations depending on equipment density, application, facility design, maintainability, and cost.
Efficiency Matters at AI Scale
When a data center consumes tens or hundreds of megawatts, relatively small efficiency improvements can represent substantial amounts of energy.
One of the most common data-center efficiency metrics is Power Usage Effectiveness, or PUE.
PUE compares the total energy consumed by the facility with the energy actually consumed by the IT equipment:
PUE = Total Facility Energy ÷ IT Equipment Energy
A theoretical PUE of 1.0 would mean that all facility energy is being used directly by the IT equipment.
Real facilities also require energy for cooling, pumps, fans, electrical losses, lighting, controls, and other supporting infrastructure.
Energy isn’t the only consideration.
Cooling-system selection can also affect water consumption, particularly when cooling towers or other evaporative cooling technologies are used.
AI data-center design therefore involves balancing several objectives:
Computing performance
Electrical efficiency
Cooling efficiency
Water consumption
Reliability
Capital cost
Operating cost
Reliability and Controls
A high-density AI data center can concentrate an extraordinary amount of computing capacity into a relatively small area.
That makes reliability critical.
A power interruption can stop thousands of GPUs, while loss of cooling can cause equipment temperatures to increase very quickly.
Critical infrastructure may therefore incorporate redundant:
Sensors and control systems continuously monitor parameters such as:
Power | Temperature | Coolant Flow | Pressure | Equipment Status | Leak Detection
Data Center Infrastructure Management systems, building automation systems, and equipment-level controls allow operators to identify abnormal conditions and respond before they affect computing operations.
Modular AI Data Centers
There is another major challenge facing AI data centers:
Speed of deployment.
Demand for AI computing capacity can grow much faster than conventional data centers can be designed and constructed.
One solution is modular data-center construction.
Instead of assembling every system independently at the construction site, major portions of the infrastructure can be manufactured, assembled, integrated, and tested in a factory.
The completed modules are transported to the project site and interconnected.
Additional modules can potentially be added as computing demand increases.
This approach can reduce field installation requirements, improve factory quality control, and accelerate deployment.
We’ll explore this subject separately in our upcoming article and video on Modular Data Centers and the concept sometimes referred to as a “Data Center in a Box.”
The Big Picture
AI may run on software, but the infrastructure supporting it is very physical.
Thousands of GPUs require enormous amounts of electrical power.
That power becomes heat.
And that heat has to be continuously captured, transported, and rejected.
The entire engineering problem can therefore be reduced to one simple concept:
POWER IN → GPU COMPUTING → HEAT OUT
As GPU densities continue to increase, data centers are evolving with them.
Higher-capacity electrical systems, high-density power distribution, direct-to-chip liquid cooling, CDUs, facility water systems, advanced heat rejection, sophisticated controls, and modular construction are all becoming increasingly important parts of the AI data-center infrastructure.
The technology inside the racks will continue to evolve.
But the fundamental engineering challenge remains the same:
Deliver the power. Keep the equipment operating. And get the heat out.
For more detailed explanations of data-center electrical systems, UPS systems, redundancy, chilled-water systems, CRAC and CRAH units, liquid cooling, immersion cooling, and other critical infrastructure, visit the MEP Academy Data Center video series.
Job Walk Pro: A Better Way to Perform Job Walks, Site Surveys, Equipment Surveys, and Asset Condition Reports
A successful construction project, renovation, equipment replacement, or facility upgrade often starts long before anyone begins installing equipment. It starts with understanding what already exists in the field.
For mechanical contractors, HVAC contractors, estimators, engineers, facility managers, consultants, and construction professionals, that usually means conducting a job walk, site survey, existing-conditions survey, equipment survey, or facility assessment.
The challenge is that collecting field information is often still a fragmented process.
Photos are stored on a phone. Equipment information is handwritten on a notepad. Model and serial numbers are recorded separately. Site conditions are buried in emails. Notes are scattered across spreadsheets, PDFs, and project folders. Someone eventually has to organize everything into a professional report.
Job Walk Pro™ was developed to simplify that process.
Job Walk Pro is a cloud-based job walk and site survey application designed to help construction and facility professionals collect equipment information, document existing conditions, organize field photographs, and create structured equipment asset and site survey reports.
Instead of treating a job walk as a collection of unrelated photos and notes, Job Walk Pro provides a structured workflow from the initial field survey through the final report.
Job Walk Pro helps contractors, estimators, engineers, and facility professionals document equipment and existing conditions during job walks and site surveys.
What Is a Job Walk or Site Survey?
A job walk is an on-site inspection performed before construction, estimating, engineering, renovation, equipment replacement, or other project work begins.
Depending on the industry and purpose, the same general process may also be called a:
Construction job walk
Pre-bid job walk
Site survey
Existing conditions survey
Facility condition assessment
Building equipment survey
HVAC equipment survey
Mechanical equipment survey
Asset survey
Equipment inventory
Site inspection
Field investigation
Building assessment
Equipment condition assessment
Existing equipment audit
MEP site survey
Regardless of terminology, the objective is similar: capture accurate information about the existing facility and equipment so that better decisions can be made after leaving the site.
For an HVAC contractor, this might mean surveying rooftop units, air handlers, chillers, boilers, pumps, cooling towers, condensers, VAV boxes, exhaust fans, or other mechanical equipment before preparing an estimate.
And for a engineer, it might involve documenting existing mechanical systems before beginning a renovation design.
For a facility manager, it might mean developing an organized inventory of existing equipment and identifying assets that need maintenance, repair, or replacement.
For an estimator, the site survey may provide critical information necessary to understand project conditions before pricing the work.
Whatever the purpose, the quality of the information collected during the job walk can directly affect everything that happens afterward.
Why Traditional Job Walk Documentation Can Be Difficult
A typical site visit can generate a surprising amount of information.
Imagine surveying a commercial building containing dozens of pieces of HVAC equipment. For every asset, you may need to document information such as:
Equipment type
Equipment identification
Manufacturer
Model number
Serial number
Capacity
Electrical characteristics
Refrigerant
Approximate age
Equipment condition
Nameplate information
Installation conditions
Access limitations
Observed deficiencies
Field notes
Equipment photographs
Nameplate photographs
General condition photographs
Now multiply that by 20, 50, or 100 pieces of equipment.
The problem isn’t simply collecting the information.
The bigger challenge is keeping everything organized.
Traditional job walks can leave teams with scattered photos, handwritten notes, and equipment information that must be reorganized back at the office.
Which photographs belong to which air-handling unit?
Was that model number from RTU-3 or RTU-4?
Did someone photograph the nameplate?
Where were the notes regarding the damaged condenser coil?
Which equipment was inaccessible?
What needs additional investigation?
And after returning to the office, who is responsible for turning all of that field information into something another person can actually understand?
Job Walk Pro was designed around this problem.
Introducing Job Walk Pro™
Job Walk Pro is a job walk, site survey, equipment inspection, and asset reporting application designed specifically for structured field documentation.
The goal is straightforward:
Capture the information once, organize it as you collect it, and turn the field data into a useful professional record.
Rather than returning from a job site with hundreds of disconnected photographs and handwritten notes, Job Walk Pro allows field personnel to build an organized digital project while performing the survey.
Each project becomes a structured record containing the project information, surveyed equipment, field observations, photographs, and reporting data.
That makes the information considerably easier to review once the job walk is complete.
How Job Walk Pro Works
The Job Walk Pro workflow is designed around the way construction professionals actually perform site surveys.
1. Create the Job Walk Project
Start by creating a project for the facility or job site being surveyed.
The project becomes the central location for the information collected during the site investigation.
Rather than mixing photographs and notes from several projects, information remains associated with the correct job.
This provides a structured starting point for a:
Pre-bid site survey
HVAC equipment survey
Mechanical equipment inventory
Facility condition assessment
Existing conditions investigation
Equipment replacement survey
Engineering field investigation
Construction job walk
2. Take Job Walk Pro Into the Field
Job Walk Pro includes an Android mobile application, allowing field personnel to collect survey information where the equipment is actually located.
Capture equipment information, photographs, nameplates, and existing conditions while performing the job walk in the field.
Instead of taking photographs now and trying to identify them later, information can be associated with the equipment being surveyed.
That distinction is important.
A camera roll containing 150 equipment photographs isn’t an equipment survey.
It is simply 150 photographs.
A structured equipment survey connects those photographs to identifiable assets and supporting information.
3. Add Equipment as You Survey the Facility
As equipment is encountered during the job walk, users can create individual equipment records.
For example, an HVAC equipment survey could include:
Air-cooled chillers
Water-cooled chillers
Boilers
Cooling towers
Rooftop units
Air-handling units
Fan-coil units
Condensing units
Split systems
Heat pumps
Pumps
Exhaust fans
Supply fans
VAV boxes
Packaged equipment
Other mechanical equipment
Job Walk Pro provides a structured workflow for documenting rooftop units and other HVAC equipment during a site survey.
Each piece of equipment becomes its own organized record within the project.
This creates the foundation for an HVAC equipment inventory or mechanical asset database rather than an unstructured collection of field notes.
Capture Equipment Nameplate Information
One of the most important parts of many HVAC and mechanical equipment surveys is documenting the equipment nameplate.
Keep equipment nameplate photos and technical information associated with the correct asset for easier verification after the site survey.
A nameplate can contain critical information such as the:
Manufacturer
Model number
Serial number
Electrical requirements
Equipment capacity
Refrigerant information
Manufacturing information
Equipment ratings
Capturing this information accurately is particularly important when evaluating existing equipment for repair or replacement.
A single incorrect digit in a model number can result in researching the wrong equipment.
Job Walk Pro helps keep equipment nameplate photographs and equipment data associated with the corresponding asset, making the information easier to locate and verify later.
Organize Job Site Photographs by Equipment
Photographs are one of the most valuable components of an existing-condition survey.
Instead of sorting through an unorganized camera roll, Job Walk Pro keeps field photographs and survey information associated with the equipment being documented.
They can document details that weren’t obvious during the original inspection and allow estimators, engineers, project managers, and other team members to review field conditions without returning to the site.
But photographs lose much of their value when nobody knows what they represent.
Job Walk Pro organizes photographs around the equipment record.
That can help distinguish between:
Overall equipment photographs
Equipment nameplates
Installation conditions
Piping connections
Ductwork connections
Electrical connections
Equipment access
Damaged components
Existing deficiencies
Maintenance conditions
Items requiring further investigation
This creates a much more useful photographic equipment survey.
Document Existing Equipment Condition
An equipment survey isn’t always about identifying what equipment exists.
Often the more important question is:
What condition is it in?
Job Walk Pro allows surveyed equipment to become part of a structured condition assessment.
Field personnel can document observations that may help identify equipment that appears to be in good condition as well as equipment showing signs of deterioration or requiring additional investigation.
This can be particularly useful for:
HVAC equipment replacement projects
Capital improvement planning
Deferred maintenance assessments
Mechanical system renovations
Facility due diligence
Property condition surveys
Equipment lifecycle evaluations
Budget planning
Existing building renovations
The resulting report becomes more than an inventory—it becomes a record of what was observed during the site visit.
Create Professional Equipment Asset Reports
Collecting information is only half of the job.
Eventually, someone needs to communicate the findings.
Job Walk Pro is designed to transform structured field information into a professional site survey and equipment asset report.
Depending on the information collected, a Job Walk Pro report can organize content such as:
Project information
Survey scope
Executive summary
Equipment summary
Individual equipment information
Equipment photographs
Condition observations
Recommendations
Items requiring further investigation
Assumptions and limitations
Photo documentation
Next steps
Turn structured field information into professional equipment asset and site survey reports for contractors, engineers, facility teams, and project stakeholders.
This makes the final deliverable useful to contractors, estimators, engineers, owners, facility personnel, and other project stakeholders.
Who Can Use Job Walk Pro?
Job Walk Pro isn’t limited to one job title.
It was designed around a workflow used throughout construction, engineering, estimating, and facility management.
HVAC and Mechanical Contractors
Mechanical contractors frequently need to document existing HVAC equipment before preparing replacement or renovation proposals.
Job Walk Pro can help organize surveys involving chillers, boilers, cooling towers, rooftop units, air handlers, pumps, and other mechanical equipment.
Instead of returning to the office with disconnected field information, contractors can maintain an organized record of what was observed.
Construction Estimators
Estimators frequently attend pre-bid job walks and construction site walks to identify conditions that could affect the estimate.
Photographs and field notes can provide critical information about:
Equipment access
Existing installations
Demolition requirements
Site logistics
Equipment conditions
Existing utilities
Installation constraints
Potential scope gaps
A structured job walk record can make it easier to reference those conditions while preparing the estimate.
Engineers and Consultants
Engineers often perform existing-condition investigations before beginning design.
Job Walk Pro can provide a structured method for recording existing equipment and field observations that can later be referenced during engineering and design.
Facility Managers
Facility managers can use equipment surveys to develop or improve facility asset records.
An organized equipment inventory can help provide visibility into:
What equipment exists
Where equipment is located
Equipment identification
Equipment condition
Available nameplate information
Equipment photographs
Assets requiring further evaluation
Building Owners and Property Managers
Owners and property managers may need equipment information when evaluating properties, planning capital improvements, preparing budgets, or assessing existing facility conditions.
A structured equipment condition report provides a more useful reference than an unorganized folder containing hundreds of photographs.
Job Walk Pro for HVAC Equipment Surveys
HVAC surveys are an especially strong use case because mechanical systems contain large quantities of equipment-specific information.
Consider a typical commercial HVAC survey.
HVAC equipment surveys can document chillers, boilers, cooling towers, rooftop units, air handlers, pumps, and other mechanical assets.
The field technician or estimator may need to document:
Chillers
Manufacturer, model, serial number, tonnage, refrigerant, electrical information, condition, photographs, and installation observations.
Boilers
Manufacturer, model, serial number, heating capacity, fuel type, condition, venting configuration, piping arrangement, and photographs.
Rooftop Units
Manufacturer, model, serial number, cooling capacity, heating information, electrical characteristics, condition, curb arrangement, access, and photographs.
Air-Handling Units
Manufacturer, model, airflow, coil information, fan arrangement, filters, motors, access, condition, and photographs.
Cooling Towers
Manufacturer, model, capacity, fan information, basin condition, structural condition, piping connections, and photographs.
A large facility can contain dozens or hundreds of assets.
That is precisely where a structured HVAC site survey application becomes valuable.
Better Information Can Lead to Better Estimates
Job walks can have a direct impact on construction estimating.
Conditions discovered during a pre-bid site visit can affect:
Labor requirements
Equipment rigging
Demolition
Temporary services
Equipment access
Crane requirements
Material handling
Shutdown requirements
Existing utility modifications
Installation sequencing
Schedule
Subcontractor requirements
Project risk
Missing one significant condition during the job walk can potentially affect the accuracy of an estimate.
A structured site survey process doesn’t eliminate estimating risk, but it can help create a more complete record of the conditions observed.
That information can then be reviewed while preparing the estimate.
Reduce the “What Photo Was That?” Problem
Anyone who has performed enough construction job walks has probably experienced this.
You return to the office with 200 photographs.
A week later you open the folder.
IMG_4381.
IMG_4382.
IMG_4383.
IMG_4384.
You remember that one photograph showed an important condition—but you don’t remember which equipment it belonged to.
Now you’re scrolling through the entire camera roll trying to reconstruct the job walk.
Structured data collection helps solve this problem by associating information with the relevant equipment while the survey is being performed.
The difference may seem small in the field.
It can be enormous three weeks later when someone needs the information.
Build a Repeatable Site Survey Process
One of the biggest advantages of digital job walk software is consistency.
Without a standard workflow, two employees can survey the same type of facility and return with completely different information.
One person may photograph every nameplate.
Another may forget half of them.
One estimator may document equipment access.
Another may focus exclusively on equipment capacity.
A structured survey process encourages users to approach field documentation systematically.
That is particularly valuable for companies with multiple:
Estimators
Project managers
Engineers
Technicians
Survey personnel
Field employees
The objective isn’t simply to digitize a clipboard.
It is to create a repeatable job walk process.
From Site Survey to Long-Term Equipment Record
Field survey information can remain valuable long after the initial job walk.
A structured equipment survey can become a reference for:
Future equipment replacement
Renovation planning
Capital budgeting
Maintenance discussions
Engineering evaluations
Estimating
Scope development
Facility assessments
Equipment lifecycle planning
Future site investigations
Instead of disappearing into someone’s camera roll or project folder, the information becomes part of an organized project record.
Why Use Job Walk Software Instead of a Spreadsheet?
Spreadsheets remain extremely useful construction tools, but equipment surveys often involve information that doesn’t fit naturally into rows and columns.
A single equipment record may include data fields, checklists, observations, multiple photographs, nameplate images, condition information, and narrative comments.
A dedicated job walk application provides a workflow designed around the survey itself.
Spreadsheets can still play an important role in estimating and data analysis.
Job Walk Pro focuses on a different problem:
collecting and organizing field survey information at the source.
Why Use Job Walk Pro Instead of Just Taking Photos?
A smartphone camera is excellent for capturing images.
It isn’t an equipment asset management system.
The distinction becomes obvious as the number of assets increases.
Ten photographs may be easy to remember.
Two hundred photographs from 40 pieces of equipment are not.
Job Walk Pro adds structure around those photographs by connecting them with equipment and project information.
That structure is what turns field photographs into usable documentation.
Job Walk Pro Is Built for Real Construction Workflows
Job Walk Pro was created with construction and MEP workflows in mind.
The application focuses on practical tasks that occur during actual site investigations:
Go to the site.
Identify the equipment.
Document the nameplate.
Record the information.
Photograph the existing conditions.
Record observations.
Organize the findings.
Create the report.
The objective is not to make the job walk more complicated.
It is to reduce the administrative work that happens afterward.
Common Uses for Job Walk Pro
Job Walk Pro can support a wide variety of field documentation workflows, including:
HVAC job walks
Mechanical job walks
Construction job walks
Pre-bid site walks
Existing conditions surveys
HVAC equipment inventories
Mechanical equipment inventories
Facility equipment surveys
Building equipment surveys
Equipment condition assessments
Facility condition assessments
Equipment replacement surveys
Engineering field investigations
Capital improvement surveys
Property equipment assessments
Renovation surveys
Asset condition reporting
Equipment documentation
Nameplate data collection
Photographic site surveys
MEP existing-condition surveys
Commercial building surveys
A Useful Tool Before HVAC Equipment Replacement
Equipment replacement projects are one area where detailed field information is especially important.
Together they create a more complete picture of the facility.
Create Better Records Before Leaving the Job Site
The best time to organize site survey information isn’t three days after the survey.
It is while the information is being collected.
At that moment, the person performing the survey still knows:
Which equipment they’re looking at
Where it is located
What the photograph represents
Why a condition is important
What additional information may be required
Once the team leaves the facility, some of that context begins disappearing.
Job Walk Pro is designed around capturing that context while it is still available.
Job Walk Pro for the Modern Construction Professional
Construction technology continues moving toward digital workflows, cloud-based project information, and mobile field data collection.
Yet many job walks are still documented essentially the same way they were decades ago—except the digital camera has been replaced by a smartphone.
The opportunity isn’t merely to replace paper with a screen.
The opportunity is to improve the entire workflow.
A modern job walk software platform should help users:
Create the project.
Collect field information.
Organize equipment.
Capture equipment photographs.
Document nameplates.
Record existing conditions.
Identify deficiencies.
Review collected information.
Generate structured reports.
Preserve the information for future reference.
That is the workflow Job Walk Pro was built to support.
Stop Reconstructing the Job Walk Back at the Office
A site survey should produce usable information—not another administrative project.
If your current workflow involves returning to the office and spending hours sorting photographs, deciphering notes, identifying equipment, renaming files, and assembling reports, there is a better approach.
Job Walk Pro helps contractors, estimators, engineers, consultants, and facility professionals turn field observations into organized equipment records and professional site survey documentation.
Whether you’re conducting an HVAC equipment survey, construction pre-bid job walk, mechanical equipment inventory, existing-condition assessment, facility survey, or equipment replacement investigation, Job Walk Pro provides a structured workflow for capturing what matters.
Because the purpose of a job walk isn’t simply to visit the site.
The purpose is to bring the information back with you.
Job Walk Pro brings field data collection, equipment documentation, site photography, and professional reporting into one organized workflow.
Start Your Next Job Walk with Job Walk Pro
Job Walk Pro combines mobile field data collection, equipment documentation, site photography, existing-condition observations, equipment asset records, and professional reporting into one organized workflow.
For HVAC contractors, mechanical contractors, construction estimators, engineers, consultants, facility managers, property managers, and other professionals responsible for documenting existing conditions, Job Walk Pro provides a better way to conduct and document a site survey.
Document the equipment. Capture the conditions. Organize the photos. Build the report.
Job Walk Pro™
Professional job walk and site survey software for construction, HVAC, MEP, engineering, and facility professionals.
Frequently Asked Questions About Job Walks and Site Survey Software
What is job walk software?
Job walk software is a digital tool used to collect and organize information during a construction site visit, pre-bid walkthrough, facility inspection, or existing-condition survey. Depending on the application, it may be used to record field notes, equipment information, photographs, deficiencies, and other project data.
What is site survey software?
Site survey software helps contractors, engineers, estimators, and facility professionals document conditions observed at a physical location. For equipment-oriented surveys, the software can help associate photographs, nameplate information, observations, and condition information with individual assets.
What is an HVAC equipment survey?
An HVAC equipment survey is an inspection and documentation process used to identify existing heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment. A survey may include equipment type, manufacturer, model number, serial number, capacity, condition, photographs, nameplate data, and observations about the existing installation.
What should be documented during an HVAC job walk?
The exact requirements depend on the project, but an HVAC job walk may include equipment identification, nameplate information, equipment condition, access, piping, ductwork, electrical connections, controls, demolition requirements, installation constraints, photographs, and items requiring further investigation.
What is an equipment asset report?
An equipment asset report provides organized information about equipment located within a building or facility. It may contain an equipment inventory, technical data, photographs, condition observations, recommendations, and other information collected during the facility survey.
What is an existing conditions survey?
An existing conditions survey documents the physical conditions present at a project site before design, estimating, renovation, or construction begins. The survey can help project teams understand existing equipment, utilities, installation conditions, access limitations, and other factors that could affect the proposed work.
Can Job Walk Pro be used for pre-bid job walks?
Yes. Job Walk Pro can be used to organize photographs, equipment information, and field observations collected during pre-bid site visits. This provides estimators with a structured record they can reference when developing the estimate.
Can Job Walk Pro be used for equipment replacement surveys?
Yes. Equipment replacement surveys are a strong application for Job Walk Pro because contractors and engineers often need equipment identification, nameplate information, photographs, existing conditions, and other field information before developing a replacement scope.
Who is Job Walk Pro designed for?
Job Walk Pro is designed for professionals who conduct or rely upon field surveys, including HVAC and mechanical contractors, estimators, engineers, consultants, facility managers, property managers, construction professionals, and others responsible for documenting existing building conditions.
Does Job Walk Pro have a mobile application?
Yes. Job Walk Pro includes an Android mobile application for collecting information in the field, while the web-based platform supports the broader project and reporting workflow.
Artificial intelligence is changing data centers faster than any technological shift in decades. As AI processors become more powerful, they consume more electricity and generate unprecedented amounts of heat. That heat must be removed efficiently, or the servers will overheat, throttle performance, or even fail.
For years, data centers have relied on sophisticated air-cooling systems to keep servers operating within safe temperature limits. Cold air is delivered to the front of server racks, server fans pull that air across processors and memory, and the heated air is exhausted into a hot aisle where mechanical cooling systems remove the heat from the building.
This approach has served the industry remarkably well.
However, today’s AI servers are creating a new engineering challenge.
Modern AI racks can consume well over 100 kilowatts of power, and some next-generation deployments are approaching or exceeding 200 kilowatts per rack. At these power densities, simply moving more air through the data hall becomes increasingly difficult, inefficient, and expensive.
The industry is reaching a point where traditional air cooling is no longer the most practical solution for every application.
That’s why many of the world’s largest technology companies are investing heavily in immersion cooling.
Immersion cooling tanks fill a data center
Unlike conventional cooling systems that cool the surrounding room, immersion cooling places the servers directly into a specially engineered dielectric liquid that safely absorbs heat from the electronic components. Because the fluid does not conduct electricity, the servers continue operating normally while completely submerged.
At first glance, the concept seems almost unbelievable.
After all, we’ve all been taught that electronics and liquids don’t mix.
Yet immersion cooling is rapidly becoming one of the most promising technologies for supporting artificial intelligence, machine learning, high-performance computing (HPC), scientific research, and other extremely demanding computing applications.
In this article, we’ll explain:
What immersion cooling is
Why AI is driving its rapid adoption
How immersion cooling actually works
The difference between single-phase and two-phase immersion cooling
How heat ultimately leaves the building
The advantages and disadvantages of immersion cooling
Why future AI data centers may look completely different from today’s facilities
Whether you’re a mechanical engineer, contractor, estimator, project manager, facility engineer, data center professional, or simply curious about the technology powering artificial intelligence, understanding immersion cooling provides valuable insight into where the industry is heading.
Why Traditional Air Cooling Is Reaching Its Limits
To understand why immersion cooling is gaining attention, it’s important to first understand the limitations of conventional air cooling.
In a traditional data center, cooling follows a relatively straightforward process:
Computer Room Air Handlers (CRAHs), Computer Room Air Conditioners (CRACs), or other cooling equipment supply cold air to the data hall.
Cold air enters the front of each server rack through the cold aisle.
Thousands of small server fans pull that air across CPUs, GPUs, memory modules, power supplies, and other electronic components.
The air absorbs heat generated by the equipment.
Hot air exits the rear of the racks into the hot aisle.
Mechanical cooling equipment removes that heat from the building before the cycle repeats.
For decades, this approach worked exceptionally well because server power densities remained relatively low.
Increased Computing Demand
As computing requirements increased, however, rack power consumption climbed steadily:
5–10 kW per rack
15–20 kW per rack
30–50 kW per rack
60–100 kW per rack
Now, AI is pushing rack densities to levels that were once considered impossible.
Moving enough air to cool these systems presents several challenges:
Larger server fans consume more electrical power.
Higher airflow increases pressure losses.
Cooling equipment becomes larger and more complex.
Mechanical infrastructure occupies more building space.
In simple terms, air is no longer the ideal medium for transporting extremely large amounts of heat.
Liquid, on the other hand, is far more effective.
Because liquids have much greater density and heat capacity than air, they can absorb and transport significantly more thermal energy using far less volume.
Instead of moving enormous quantities of air through an entire room, immersion cooling removes heat directly where it is generated—inside the server itself.
This fundamental shift is changing how engineers think about cooling AI infrastructure.
How Immersion Cooling Works
The concept behind immersion cooling is surprisingly straightforward.
Instead of cooling the room…
The cooling system cools the servers directly.
Immersion Cooling Tank for Servers
Servers are installed inside specially designed tanks filled with a dielectric fluid. Unlike water, dielectric fluids do not conduct electricity, allowing electronic components to operate safely while completely submerged.
As processors, graphics processing units (GPUs), memory modules, and other electronic components generate heat, that heat transfers directly into the surrounding liquid.
The warmed dielectric fluid then circulates through a heat exchanger, where its heat is transferred into a separate facility water loop. After the fluid is cooled, it returns to the immersion tank, where the cycle repeats continuously.
The building’s mechanical cooling system still plays an important role. The heat absorbed by the dielectric fluid is ultimately rejected outdoors through cooling towers, dry coolers, fluid coolers, or chilled water systems, depending on the facility design.
The key difference is that the servers are no longer cooled by moving massive amounts of air through the data hall. Instead, heat is captured immediately at its source and transported efficiently by liquid.
This overview explains how immersion cooling works, why AI is accelerating its adoption, and how it differs from conventional air-cooled data center designs.
How It Works Diagram
Heat Rejection from Immersion Cooling System in a Data Center
The simplified diagram illustrates the basic heat flow through an immersion cooling system.
Servers generate heat while operating inside a dielectric fluid.
The dielectric fluid absorbs heat from the electronic components.
Warm dielectric fluid flows through a heat exchanger.
Heat transfers into the facility water loop.
Cooling water is pumped from the cooling tower basin through the heat exchanger.
Warm condenser water returns to the top of the cooling tower.
The cooling tower rejects the heat to the atmosphere.
The cooled water collects in the basin, and the cycle repeats.
Unlike conventional air-cooled facilities, the majority of heat transport occurs through liquid piping rather than airflow within the data hall.
Although the cooling method has changed dramatically, the basic laws of thermodynamics have not. Every watt of electrical energy consumed by the servers ultimately becomes heat that must be rejected outside the building.
Understanding this complete heat-transfer path is essential for anyone involved in designing, constructing, operating, or maintaining modern AI data centers.
Single-Phase vs. Two-Phase Immersion Cooling
Although the basic principle of immersion cooling remains the same—submerging electronic equipment in a non-conductive dielectric fluid—there are two distinct methods used to remove heat from the servers.
These are known as single-phase immersion cooling and two-phase immersion cooling.
Both technologies eliminate the need to cool servers with room air, but they transfer heat in different ways.
Single-Phase Immersion Cooling
Single-phase immersion cooling is currently the most widely deployed immersion cooling technology.
In a single-phase system, the dielectric fluid remains a liquid throughout the entire cooling process. It never boils or changes state.
Servers are mounted vertically inside a sealed immersion tank filled with dielectric fluid. As CPUs, GPUs, memory, and power electronics generate heat, that heat transfers directly into the surrounding liquid.
A circulation pump moves the warmed dielectric fluid through a heat exchanger, where heat is transferred into a separate facility water loop. The cooled dielectric fluid then returns to the immersion tank, creating a continuous closed-loop cooling cycle.
Because the fluid never changes phase, these systems are relatively straightforward to design, operate, and maintain.
Many manufacturers prefer this approach because it uses familiar pumping and heat exchanger technologies while still providing dramatically better cooling performance than conventional air cooling.
Insert Image Here
Figure 2.In a single-phase immersion cooling system, the dielectric fluid remains a liquid at all times while continuously circulating through a heat exchanger.
Two-Phase Immersion Cooling
Two-phase immersion cooling operates on an entirely different principle.
Instead of remaining a liquid, the dielectric fluid is intentionally selected to boil at relatively low temperatures.
As processors become hot, the surrounding dielectric fluid begins boiling directly on the electronic components.
This boiling process absorbs enormous amounts of heat.
The resulting vapor naturally rises toward the top of the immersion tank, where it contacts a condenser supplied with cooler facility water.
The vapor condenses back into liquid droplets that fall back into the tank, repeating the cycle continuously.
One interesting characteristic of two-phase immersion cooling is that no circulation pumps are required inside the immersion tank itself.
Gravity and phase change perform much of the work.
The process resembles a miniature water cycle:
Liquid absorbs heat.
Liquid boils.
Vapor rises.
Vapor condenses.
Liquid falls back into the tank.
The cycle repeats continuously.
Although two-phase systems offer exceptional heat transfer capabilities, they generally require more specialized fluids and carefully engineered containment systems, making them more complex than single-phase designs.
Insert Image Here
Figure 3.Two-phase immersion cooling uses the boiling and condensation of a dielectric fluid to transfer heat away from high-performance computing equipment.
Single-Phase vs. Two-Phase Comparison
Feature
Single-Phase
Two-Phase
Dielectric fluid remains liquid
✔ Yes
✘ No
Fluid boils during operation
✘ No
✔ Yes
Internal circulation pump required
✔ Yes
Usually No
Uses condenser inside tank
✘ No
✔ Yes
System complexity
Lower
Higher
Maintenance complexity
Lower
Higher
Typical applications
AI, HPC, enterprise data centers
Extremely high-density AI and research computing
Technology maturity
More common today
Growing rapidly
Both technologies dramatically outperform traditional air cooling at high rack densities.
Which solution is selected depends on numerous factors including equipment compatibility, rack density, facility design, maintenance philosophy, operating costs, and owner preferences.
Why Artificial Intelligence Is Driving Immersion Cooling
Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing the way data centers are designed.
For decades, most enterprise servers handled workloads such as databases, web hosting, email, virtualization, and business applications. These servers generated manageable amounts of heat, allowing traditional air-cooling systems to perform effectively.
AI workloads are different.
Training large language models, performing machine learning, rendering complex simulations, and executing scientific calculations require enormous numbers of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) operating simultaneously.
Unlike traditional CPUs, modern GPUs can consume several hundred watts each, with the latest generations approaching or exceeding 1,000 watts per processor.
A single AI server may contain:
Multiple high-performance GPUs
High-speed memory
Multiple CPUs
High-capacity networking hardware
Large power supplies
When dozens of these servers are installed into one rack, power densities increase dramatically.
Instead of cooling a 10-kilowatt rack, engineers may now be cooling a rack exceeding 100 kilowatts—and in some next-generation AI deployments, over 200 kilowatts.
This creates several engineering challenges.
Traditional air cooling requires:
Larger CRAH or CRAC units
Higher airflow volumes
More fan power
Increased ductwork or air distribution
More careful airflow management
Greater building mechanical capacity
Eventually, simply moving more air becomes impractical.
Liquid cooling solves this problem by transporting heat much more efficiently.
Because liquids have significantly higher heat capacity than air, much smaller volumes can carry the same amount of thermal energy.
This allows AI processors to operate at much higher performance levels while maintaining acceptable operating temperatures.
For this reason, many of the world’s largest technology companies—including hyperscale cloud providers and AI developers—are investing billions of dollars in liquid cooling technologies, including immersion cooling and direct-to-chip cooling.
As AI continues to evolve, cooling technology must evolve with it.
Advantages of Immersion Cooling
Immersion cooling offers numerous advantages over conventional air cooling, particularly for high-density computing applications.
Higher Rack Densities
Perhaps the greatest benefit is the ability to support significantly higher rack power densities.
Instead of being limited by airflow, immersion cooling removes heat directly from the electronic components, allowing much greater computing capacity within the same floor area.
The benefits of Immersion Cooling in Data Centers.
Improved Energy Efficiency
Traditional servers require thousands of high-speed fans that consume electricity around the clock.
Immersion-cooled servers often eliminate most or all internal server fans, reducing electrical consumption while simplifying airflow management.
This reduction in fan energy can improve overall facility efficiency.
Better Temperature Uniformity
Air-cooled servers can develop localized hot spots where airflow is restricted.
Immersion cooling surrounds every component with dielectric fluid, creating much more uniform cooling throughout the server.
This consistent thermal environment can improve reliability and performance.
Reduced Noise
One of the first things visitors notice inside an immersion-cooled data center is how quiet it is.
Traditional server rooms can exceed 80 decibels due to thousands of rapidly spinning fans.
Because immersion-cooled servers eliminate most internal fans, noise levels are dramatically reduced.
Smaller Air Infrastructure
Many conventional cooling components become less important when server heat is removed directly by liquid.
Facilities may require fewer:
Raised floor systems
Perforated floor tiles
Hot aisle containment systems
Cold aisle containment systems
Large air distribution pathways
Instead, the cooling infrastructure shifts toward liquid piping and heat exchangers.
Supports Future AI Hardware
Perhaps the greatest long-term advantage is scalability.
As AI processors continue increasing in power consumption, immersion cooling provides a practical path toward cooling the next generation of ultra-high-density computing hardware.
Disadvantages of Immersion Cooling
Although immersion cooling offers impressive benefits, it is not the ideal solution for every data center.
Like every engineering system, it involves tradeoffs.
Higher Initial Cost
Immersion tanks, dielectric fluids, specialized infrastructure, and compatible hardware often require greater initial investment than conventional air-cooled systems.
However, many owners evaluate these costs over the facility’s entire operating life rather than considering only first cost.
Challenges of Immersion Cooling in Data Centers
Specialized Maintenance
Maintaining immersion-cooled servers differs from maintaining conventional servers.
Technicians must remove equipment from dielectric fluid, allow excess liquid to drain, and follow specialized maintenance procedures.
Personnel require additional training to safely service immersion systems.
Equipment Compatibility
Not every server is designed for immersion cooling.
Manufacturers may specify approved hardware configurations, compatible materials, and recommended dielectric fluids.
Compatibility should always be verified before deployment.
Fluid Management
Although dielectric fluids are engineered specifically for electronic cooling, they still require proper handling, storage, filtration, monitoring, and occasional replacement depending on the fluid chemistry and operating conditions.
Evolving Industry Standards
Immersion cooling remains a rapidly developing technology.
Industry standards, equipment designs, fluid chemistries, and maintenance practices continue to evolve as more AI facilities are built.
Organizations considering immersion cooling should carefully evaluate equipment vendors, long-term support, service availability, and future expansion plans.
Despite these challenges, industry experts generally expect liquid cooling technologies to play an increasingly important role as AI computing continues to grow.
Rather than replacing every air-cooled data center, immersion cooling is likely to become one of several specialized cooling strategies used where extremely high rack densities make conventional air cooling impractical.
Design Considerations for Engineers and Contractors
As immersion cooling becomes more common, the responsibilities of mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, contractors, commissioning agents, and facility owners are beginning to change. While the servers themselves may look dramatically different, the supporting infrastructure becomes even more important.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that immersion cooling eliminates the need for mechanical systems.
It does not.
It simply changes where heat is captured.
Instead of removing heat from room air, the mechanical system removes heat from a liquid loop. The same amount of heat must still leave the building because every watt of electrical energy consumed by the servers eventually becomes heat.
For engineers and contractors, this means designing and constructing a reliable heat rejection system becomes even more critical.
Mechanical System Design
Although immersion cooling reduces the need for large air-handling systems inside the data hall, the facility still requires robust mechanical infrastructure to reject heat outdoors.
Depending on the owner’s design criteria, this may include:
Chilled water systems
Cooling towers
Dry coolers
Fluid coolers
Plate-and-frame heat exchangers
Pumps and piping systems
Expansion tanks
Water treatment systems
Filtration equipment
Rather than designing airflow through a room, engineers are increasingly designing liquid distribution systems that move heat efficiently throughout the facility.
Piping Infrastructure
Liquid-cooled data centers contain considerably more piping than traditional air-cooled facilities.
Design considerations include:
Supply and return piping
Pump redundancy
Isolation valves
Balancing valves
Air elimination
Expansion control
Leak detection
Equipment isolation for maintenance
Future expansion capacity
Many AI facilities also incorporate redundant cooling loops so maintenance can occur without shutting down critical computing equipment.
Electrical Infrastructure
Although immersion cooling reduces fan energy within the servers, AI equipment still requires enormous amounts of electrical power.
Electrical engineers must consider:
Larger electrical services
Higher-capacity switchgear
UPS systems
Standby generators
Busways
Rack power distribution
Grounding systems
Monitoring equipment
The cooling method changes.
The electrical demand continues to grow.
Structural Considerations
Immersion cooling tanks are considerably heavier than conventional server racks.
Remember that each tank contains:
Servers
Steel framework
Heat exchangers
Hundreds or even thousands of pounds of dielectric fluid
Structural engineers must verify:
Floor loading
Equipment anchorage
Seismic restraints
Access pathways
Equipment replacement clearances
These loads can be substantially greater than traditional raised-floor server installations.
Maintenance Access
One design aspect that is sometimes overlooked is serviceability.
Engineers should provide adequate space for:
Opening tank lids
Removing server modules
Servicing pumps
Cleaning heat exchangers
Fluid filtration
Fluid replacement
Crane or lifting equipment where required
Just because the equipment is compact does not mean it requires less maintenance space.
Proper access remains essential throughout the life of the facility.
Commissioning Considerations
Commissioning becomes even more important with immersion cooling systems.
Testing may include:
Fluid circulation verification
Pump operation
Temperature monitoring
Flow verification
Leak testing
Heat exchanger performance
Control sequence verification
Alarm testing
Emergency shutdown procedures
Like any mission-critical infrastructure, successful startup depends on careful planning and comprehensive testing.
Common Misconceptions About Immersion Cooling
Because immersion cooling is relatively new to many people, several misconceptions continue to circulate.
Let’s clear up some of the most common ones.
Misconception #1: The Servers Are Underwater
This is probably the biggest misconception.
Servers are not submerged in water.
They operate inside specially engineered dielectric fluids that do not conduct electricity.
These fluids are specifically developed for cooling electronic equipment while providing electrical insulation.
Misconception #2: Immersion Cooling Eliminates HVAC Systems
Not even close.
The heat still has to leave the building.
Immersion cooling changes how heat is collected—not whether heat must be rejected.
Most immersion-cooled facilities still rely on cooling towers, dry coolers, fluid coolers, chilled water systems, pumps, heat exchangers, and sophisticated control systems.
Mechanical engineers remain an essential part of every immersion-cooled data center.
Misconception #3: The Entire Data Center Is Filled With Liquid
Only the servers are immersed.
The remainder of the facility still contains electrical rooms, UPS equipment, batteries, generators, switchgear, transformers, networking equipment, offices, maintenance areas, and numerous other support spaces.
Many of these areas continue using conventional HVAC systems.
Misconception #4: Immersion Cooling Is Replacing Every Data Center
Not necessarily.
Air cooling remains an excellent solution for many facilities.
Direct-to-chip cooling is also growing rapidly.
Future data centers will likely use multiple cooling strategies depending on rack density, application, owner preference, and total cost of ownership.
Immersion cooling is one important tool—not the only tool.
Misconception #5: There Are No Fans Anywhere
Although immersion-cooled servers often eliminate internal server fans, many facilities still use fans elsewhere.
Cooling towers, dry coolers, electrical equipment, generators, transformers, and HVAC systems frequently include fans.
The overall facility is quieter, but fans have certainly not disappeared entirely.
The Future of Immersion Cooling
Only a few years ago, immersion cooling was considered a niche technology used primarily in research laboratories and specialized high-performance computing facilities.
Today, the conversation has changed dramatically.
Artificial intelligence has accelerated demand for computing infrastructure at an unprecedented pace.
Every new generation of AI hardware produces more computing power.
More computing power consumes more electricity.
electricity generates more heat.
More heat requires better cooling technologies.
This cycle continues with every new generation of processors.
Industry analysts expect liquid cooling—including both immersion cooling and direct-to-chip cooling—to become increasingly common in hyperscale AI facilities over the next decade.
That does not necessarily mean traditional air-cooled data centers will disappear.
Instead, future facilities may use several different cooling technologies within the same campus.
For example:
Traditional enterprise servers may remain air cooled.
Medium-density AI clusters may use direct-to-chip cooling.
Ultra-high-density AI training clusters may use immersion cooling.
Each technology has strengths, and owners will select the approach that best fits their operational requirements.
One trend, however, appears increasingly clear.
Mechanical infrastructure will become more important—not less.
The future AI data center will likely contain:
Larger liquid distribution systems
More heat exchangers
More sophisticated controls
Increased monitoring
Greater redundancy
Higher-capacity heat rejection equipment
As computing evolves, so must the buildings that support it.
Key Takeaways
Immersion cooling represents one of the most significant changes in data center cooling technology in decades.
Rather than relying on air to remove heat from electronic equipment, immersion cooling places servers directly into a dielectric liquid capable of absorbing enormous amounts of thermal energy.
As artificial intelligence continues increasing rack power densities, this technology provides a practical method for cooling hardware that would be difficult—or even impossible—to cool efficiently with air alone.
The most important concepts to remember are:
Immersion cooling submerges servers in a non-conductive dielectric fluid—not water.
The dielectric fluid absorbs heat directly from the electronic components.
Heat is transferred through heat exchangers into the facility water system.
Mechanical systems still reject that heat outdoors using cooling towers, dry coolers, fluid coolers, or chilled water systems.
Single-phase systems circulate liquid dielectric fluid, while two-phase systems use boiling and condensation to transfer heat.
Immersion cooling supports much higher rack power densities than conventional air cooling.
Engineers, contractors, and facility owners must still design robust mechanical, electrical, structural, and control systems to support these installations.
As AI infrastructure continues expanding, immersion cooling is expected to become an increasingly important solution for high-density computing environments.
While immersion cooling may not replace every traditional data center, it is already reshaping how engineers think about cooling the next generation of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Understanding this technology today provides valuable insight into where the industry is headed tomorrow.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is immersion cooling?
Immersion cooling is a liquid cooling technology in which servers are completely submerged in a specially engineered dielectric fluid that does not conduct electricity. The fluid absorbs heat directly from electronic components and transfers that heat to the building’s mechanical cooling system through a heat exchanger. Unlike conventional air cooling, immersion cooling removes heat directly at the source rather than cooling the surrounding room air.
What is dielectric fluid?
Dielectric fluid is a specially formulated liquid designed for cooling electronic equipment. Unlike water, dielectric fluids do not conduct electricity, allowing powered electronic components to operate safely while submerged. These fluids also provide excellent thermal transfer characteristics, making them highly effective for removing heat from processors, GPUs, memory modules, and other electronic components.
Is immersion cooling better than air cooling?
Neither cooling method is universally better. Traditional air cooling remains an excellent solution for many enterprise data centers with moderate rack densities. Immersion cooling becomes increasingly attractive as rack power densities rise because liquid transfers heat much more efficiently than air. For very high-density AI computing, immersion cooling can often support higher performance while reducing airflow requirements and improving energy efficiency.
What is the difference between immersion cooling and direct-to-chip cooling?
The biggest difference is how the heat is removed. With immersion cooling, the entire server is submerged in dielectric fluid. With direct-to-chip cooling, cold plates are attached directly to high-heat components such as CPUs and GPUs, while much of the remaining server continues to be cooled by air. Both technologies are forms of liquid cooling, but they use different approaches to remove heat.
Does immersion cooling eliminate HVAC systems?
No. This is one of the most common misconceptions. Immersion cooling changes how heat is collected—not how it ultimately leaves the building. The heat must still be rejected outdoors using mechanical systems such as: Cooling towers Dry coolers Fluid coolers Chilled water systems Pumps Heat exchangers Mechanical infrastructure remains an essential part of every immersion-cooled facility.
Why doesn’t the liquid damage the servers?
Because immersion cooling uses dielectric fluids rather than water. Dielectric fluids are electrically non-conductive, meaning they do not create short circuits when they contact electronic components. The fluids are specifically engineered for electronic cooling applications.
Can any server be used for immersion cooling?
Not always. Although some standard server hardware can be adapted for immersion cooling, many manufacturers now offer equipment specifically designed or certified for immersion applications. Compatibility with materials, connectors, thermal interfaces, and fluid chemistry should always be confirmed before deployment.
Does immersion cooling eliminate server fans?
In many cases, yes. Because the dielectric fluid removes heat directly from the electronic components, immersion-cooled servers often do not require the high-speed internal fans found in traditional air-cooled servers. Removing these fans can reduce electrical consumption, decrease noise levels, and simplify server design. However, fans may still be used elsewhere in the facility, such as on cooling towers, dry coolers, generators, or other mechanical equipment.
Is immersion cooling used only for AI?
No. Although AI is currently driving much of the industry’s growth, immersion cooling has been used for years in: High-performance computing (HPC) Scientific research Cryptocurrency mining Government computing Defense applications Supercomputers Artificial intelligence has simply accelerated adoption because of its exceptionally high computing and cooling requirements.
Is immersion cooling safe?
Yes—when properly designed, installed, and maintained. Modern immersion cooling systems include engineered tanks, compatible dielectric fluids, monitoring systems, leak detection, filtration systems, temperature controls, and established maintenance procedures. Like any engineered mechanical system, safety depends on proper design, installation, commissioning, and operation.
Is immersion cooling more energy efficient?
It can be. By eliminating many server fans and reducing the amount of air that must be moved through the data hall, immersion cooling can lower cooling energy requirements. The actual efficiency improvements depend on the overall facility design, climate, operating conditions, and heat rejection system.
Will immersion cooling replace every data center?
Probably not. The future will likely include multiple cooling technologies working side by side. Many enterprise facilities will continue using traditional air cooling. Direct-to-chip cooling is expected to grow rapidly for AI workloads. Immersion cooling will likely be used where extremely high rack densities justify its advantages. The cooling technology selected will depend on the application’s performance requirements, cost, maintainability, and overall design objectives.
Why is immersion cooling becoming more popular now?
The primary reason is artificial intelligence. Modern AI processors generate far more heat than traditional enterprise servers. As rack power densities continue increasing, conventional air cooling becomes more difficult and expensive to scale. Immersion cooling provides an efficient method for removing large amounts of heat directly from the computing hardware, making it an increasingly attractive solution for next-generation AI data centers.
What should engineers and contractors know about immersion cooling?
Mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, contractors, and commissioning teams should understand that immersion cooling changes the cooling strategy but does not eliminate the need for robust infrastructure. Successful immersion-cooled data centers still require carefully designed: Mechanical cooling systems Heat rejection equipment Pumping systems Heat exchangers Electrical distribution Structural support Controls and monitoring Commissioning procedures Preventive maintenance programs As AI infrastructure expands, understanding liquid cooling technologies will become increasingly valuable for professionals involved in designing, constructing, and operating modern data centers.
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