The customer

FAMIS GmbH, based in Saarbrücken in southwest Germany, offers energy and engineering services as well as technical building services via contracting models. These include, amongst others, the planning, financing, construction and operation of technical facilities and use of regenerative energies, as well as building and engineering services.
The FAMIS group of companies employs over 1,000 staff; its principal shareholder is the Saarland energy utility, VSE.
FAMIS capitalises on renewable energies and sustainable solutions in its service portfolio.

Project and implementation

The project involved equipping a data centre of Saarland-based telecom supplier VSENet in the town of Völklingen-Geislautern. FAMIS supplies VSENet with the necessary refrigeration for cooling the server rooms in the framework of its “Climate as a Service” product.

In the course of the intended energy-efficient conversion of the existing air conditioning system, investments were made in a future-proof solution in consultation with the customer.
Uniformly water-cooled climatic chambers are used for cooling and supplied with refrigeration by a cluster of four interconnected eChillers.
The required temperature on the intake side of the racks is a maximum of 27°C.

System installation

Result

One of the key project requirements was also above-average energy efficiency due to rising electricity costs. The free-cooling option was also very important to the customer due to the high system temperatures.

We succeeded in convincing the customer of our solution, despite our offer being more expensive than that of a strong competitor. Ultimately, it was the environmental friendliness, sustainability, energy efficiency and innovative technology of the eChillers that won the day.

The profitability calculation has shown in advance that mechanical refrigeration can be dispensed with for a large part of the year and that a great deal of energy – and thus money – can be saved through free-cooling.

The project is to be upgraded with a further eChiller in the near future. The professional cooperation with FAMIS went smoothly from the very start of the project. Despite the corona crisis, we were able to commission the system under strict hygiene requirements in spring 2020.

“The eChiller is the optimal solution both economically and strategically for expanding the VSENet facility. We’re increasingly turning to climate-friendly and future-proof solutions in our portfolio, and EE’s sustainable refrigeration technology optimally fits the bill here,” says Marcel Schäfer, authorised signatory and head of technical operations and service.