Slaying the Two-Headed Water Management Monster!

Photo of Typical Data Center Cooling Tower

These concerns are due primarily to the broad-based use of water-based cooling as a strategy to reject heat and thereby provide cool air to the servers inside the data center. This industrial air conditioning is typically delivered by cooling tower/chiller setups, and they require an enormous amount of water to operate due to frequent blowdown (a flushing process that relieves the concentration of minerals but requires fresh “makeup” water), evaporation and drift.

Depending on the makeup water quality and the water treatment program in place, tens of millions of gallons of water can be consumed each year by just one data center — hence the concern expressed above! (https://www.alignedenergy.com/technologies/) – the fact remains that thousands of data centers continue to operate with traditional water-based cooling and in so doing are straining water resources (particularly in water scarce regions) while also paying a heavy and increasing price for that makeup water.

While there has been and continues to be a great deal of innovation around cooling the data center and newer strategies have emerged such as indirect evaporative cooling, outside air cooling, recycled (gray) water as makeup – Aligned Energy in particular has challenged the status quo and brought water efficient designs to the industry (https://www.alignedenergy.com/technologies/) – the fact remains that thousands of data centers continue to operate with traditional water-based cooling and in so doing are straining water management resources (particularly in water scarce regions) while also paying a heavy and increasing price for that makeup water.

Workplace Elemental Technologies recently introduced an innovative solution to our portfolio that can address both sides of that “monstrous” water management situation for businesses which use a lot of water and/or spend a lot on water annually. FluidLytix and their patented WAVE™ (Water Air Volume Efficiency) Water Efficiency System is addressing a problem that many companies don’t know about but creates a recurring monthly tax levied by the water meter — air in the water supply.

By installing the WAVE™ on the consumer side of the water meter, customers can generate three tangible benefits that begin immediately upon installation:

• Compressible Flow Valve. Compresses the accumulated air in the water line, reducing the volume of air prior to flowing through the water meter. The result is a 15-30% savings on water usage costs.*

• Adjustable Pressure-Reducing Valve. Regulates water pressure to reduce water usage by 6% to 9%. This saves water, increases the service life of plumbing system components, and reduces risks of water leaks.

• Check Valve. The single-coil spring mechanism uses a consistent spring-force design that responds rapidly to flow variation.

* Results vary by size of valve, incoming water pressure and location.

The WAVE™ is manufactured here in the United States and available in all pipe sizes up to 16″ (metric available as well). It is built of a medical grade stainless steel which ensures a 25+ year lifespan (the product warranty is 10 years), and installation/downtime is typically less than 90 minutes. With more than 2,000 installations here in the United States (and many international customers as well), the most frequent applications are Hotels, Hospitals/Health Care, Restaurants, Health Clubs, Car Washes, Universities, Food/Beverage Processing, Grocery Stores, Apartments/Condominiums and ideally many of those Data Centers in the near future.

Please reach out directly to discuss further and thanks for reading!