Optimized data center cooling solutions in a small package
In the fast-paced world of digital storage, efficient data center cooling and energy recovery solutions are vital. SWEP´s brazed plate heat exchangers excel at providing highly effective, yet compact solutions that do not compromise on space.
Applications where BPHE solutions are used in data center cooling
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CDUs for Data center cooling
Liquid CDU’s for Data Center Cooling
The white area within Data Centers comes with a premium price tag and space optimization is a must when choosing your data center cooling solution. SWEP's brazed plate technology allows for ultra-compact Row or Rack CDUs of unparalleled cooling capacity. Additionally, our 2-Pass flow pattern heat exchangers allow to almost double the thermal performance, within the same footprint, all while minimizing needed design space.
The SWEP range of BPHEs for use with 2-phase fluids is unrivaled. CDUs with a condensing fluid require a precise selection, designed for your application needs. These BPHEs are easily simulated in our selection software SSP, based on real life tests, assuring properly optimized and reliable performance for your system conditions.

SWEP offers a comprehensive range of Heat Exchangers designed for liquid cooling CDU systems in data center cooling applications.
- Liquid cooling capacity ranges based on Water or Propylene Glycol (30%)
- Water inlet 25C (77F)
- Propylene Glycol (30%) Inlet 55C (131 F)
- For further information or selection help, please contact SWEP.

SWEP offers a comprehensive range of Heat Exchangers designed for 2-Phase CDU systems for data center cooling applications.
- 2-Phase Cooling based on Refrigerant Inlet range of 16-20 C (61-68F)
- Units available in condenser and cascade designs
- For further information or selection help, please contact SWEP.

Mechanical Cooling for Data Center CoolingOptimized Chiller solutionsSWEP’s wide range of BPHE evaporators for chillers combine innovative plate and distribution technology to maximize capacity and efficiency. We work with all the main refrigerants and many of the uncommon ones, as well as A2L and A3, which makes us the ideal partner for Data Center chillers used for data center cooling. The BPHE technology is also a perfect fit for applications like condensers, economizers and for heat recovery with single or double wall technology. |
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SWEP offers evaporators with distribution systems that are optimized for a wide range of refrigerants and applications.
The below graphs give an indication of the suitable SWEP evaporator based on system chiller capacity for R134a and R410A
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Trane: Meeting and exceeding Ecodesign directives by up to 20% with the help of SWEP BPHEs
SWEP’s True Dual DFX650 helps leading HVAC system manufacturer Trane to meet and exceed Ecodesign directives around SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) by up to 20% and reduce the energy consumption of their customers.
The Ecodesign directive affects all types of industries by setting minimum energy efficiency standards for air-cooled chillers and heat pumps, among others. It is estimated that the policy will save Europeans an average of €490 a year on their energy bills.


Free cooling/Economizers for Data Center Cooling
Energy saving cooling efficiency
Energy may be saved if the ambient air or other cold source can be used to cool the server rack with the chiller off, utilizing “free cooling”. Our BPHE technology is ideal to use as an intermediate circuit to separate the external glycol loop with the internal server loop thanks to the high thermal efficiency in a compact format.
SWEP’s product range includes the largest BPHE in the world with 6” ports capable of handling 1500 GPM (340 m3/h) per unit. The compactness of BPHEs will also allow for a modular setup, assuring reliability for increased part load efficiency and cost-effective redundancy, all which are added advantages for your data center cooling solution.
The capacity reach of SWEP BPHEs extends well into the Megawatt range, offering compact and cost-effective redundancy.
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- Free cooling capacity ranges based on Water and Ethylene Glycol (30%)
- Water inlet 16°C (61°F)
- Ethylene Glycol (30%) Inlet 13°C (55° F)
- For further information or selection help, please contact SWEP.
Efficient cooling of Infosys’ Data Centers
Large data centers need powerful cooling solutions. Infosys Technologies Ltd., a leading IT company with its headquarters in Bangalore, India, wanted multiple cost-efficient solutions with high efficiency. Project design lead Schneider opted for SWEP brazed plate heat exchangers (BPHE) due to their high energy efficiency and reliable technical support.
The SWEP BPHE is used to isolate the primary and secondary source, as the primary source of water comes from a cooling tower. The secondary source, into which the water was to be fed, is cooling coils feeding critical IT equipment.

This customer has been committed to the development of precision environmental control technologies applied in large-scale data centers and other business-critical areas.
The SWEP solution with (2) B427 model BPHEs installed allowed for a redundant solution that was much smaller than the customer had initially planned for.

FAQ - our frequently asked questions
We have gathered some of the most common questions and answers relating to data center cooling. Need more information? Find your local sales representative here.
Data center cooling (short DCC) refers to the control of temperature inside a data center to give IT equipment optimal working temperature, for best efficiency and durability. Excessive heat can lead to significant stress that can lead to downtime, damage to critical components, and a shorter lifespan for equipment, which leads to increased capital expenditure. Not only that. Inefficient cooling systems can increase power costs significantly from an operational perspective.
- A traditional DCC approach deals with Computer Room Air Conditioner (CRAC) in
order to keep the room and its IT racks fresh. Very similarly, Computer Room AirHandlers (CRAH) centralize the cooling water production for multiple units and/orrooms. Cooling water might be issued by an adiabatic cooling tower, a dry cooler,which counts as free-cooling, or with a dedicated chiller when the climate is toowarm.
- Because air is a bad heat carrier, various improvements have been developed to
increase cooling efficiency. Raised floor, hot aisle and/or cold aisle containment,and in-row up to In-rack cooling, have consistently decreased the losses.
- While CRAH units and cooling towers have become legacy, water usage has been growing year after year to become a challenge. Water is sprayed in the air to dissipate heat better than in a dry cooler. With growing water scarcity, Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) is now an important factor for the data center industry.
- Liquid cooling is the most recent and advanced technology improvement and
includes hybrid systems with integral coil or Rear Door Heat-Exchanger (RDHX), and Direct-to-Chip (DTC) while immersed systems offer the best possible Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) with highest energy density and unequaled WUE.
The cost of data center cooling depends on the type of data center, the Tier level, the location, design choices including cooling technology, etc. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Return on Investment (ROI) are probably a better approach to get a full view on cost.
TCO comprises of three critical components:
- CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) The initial investment which takes Tier level, expected lifetime and design choices into consideration – the cost to build.
- OPEX (Operational Expenditure) Refers to the operating and maintenance costs and considerations like location and design choices, including PUE and cooling
technology etc.
- Energy costs: since water scarcity and climate warming increase as well as fossil energy stocks decrease, increased attention should be given to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
These considerations lead to a more holistic view and better evaluation of ROI and strategic choices.
Water Usage Effectiveness (short WUE) is a simple rating in l/kWh comparing the annual data center water consumption (in liters) with the IT equipment energy consumption (in kilowatt hours). Water usage includes cooling, regulating humidity and producing electricity onsite. Uptime Institute claims that a medium-sized data center (15 MW) uses as much water as 3 average-sized hospitals or more than two 18-holes golf courses* While the demand is growing for more data centers, WUE becomes crucial while water scarcity becomes more and more common. As a result, data centers must rely on more sustainable cooling methods. Ramping up on renewable energies (solar and wind) also allows data centers to indirectly curb their water consumption while lowering carbon emissions.
Power Usage Effectiveness (short PUE) is a metric for the energy-efficiency of data centers; specifically how much energy is used by the computing equipment, in contrast to cooling and other overhead that supports the equipment. PUE is also the inverse Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency (DCIE). An ideal PUE is 1.0. Anything that isn’t considered a computing device in a data center (e.g. lighting, cooling, etc.) falls into the category of facility energy consumption. Traditional data centers score PUE around 1,7-1,8 or more while aisle containment lowers PUE down to 1,2. Liquid cooling technologies allow down to 1,05-1,1.
A Coolant Distribution Unit (short CDU) is a system that enables smaller, more efficient and more precise liquid cooling in a data center, often integrating facility water. The CDU circulates the coolant in a closed-loop system on the secondary side (cooling application) and utilizes facility water on the primary side. (heat rejection) A CDU has a pump, reservoir, power supply, control board, and a brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE) as the key components. Filters, flow meters, pressure transducers, and other devices are also used for managing the operation of the CDU optimally. In-Rack CDUs are designed to integrate into a server chassis and distribute coolant to a series of servers or heat sources. In-Rack CDU offer up to 60-80kW of cooling capacity. These can feature redundant pump design, dynamic condensation-free control, automatic coolant replenishing, a bypass loop for stand-by operation, and automatic leak detection.Freestanding In-Row CDUs are larger and designed to manage high heat loads across a series of server chassis in data center. These full liquid cooling systems distribute coolant in and out of server chassis and can integrate into existing facility cooling systems or be designed to be fully self-contained. In-Row CDU capacity ranges typically around 300 kW with models up to 700 kW.
Direct-to-chip cooling (short DTC) utilizes cold plates in contact with hot components and removes heat by running cooling fluid through the cold plates. Cooling fluids can be a refrigerant (Direct expansion DX or 2-phase systems) or chilled water (single phase) in direct feed or via CDU. Practically, liquid cooled systems often have one or more loops for each server. In the GPU server (Graphic Processing Unit), there are five loops, so one needs a CDU for the rack. DTC extends cooling to CPU (Core Processing Unit), GPU, RAM (Random Access Memory) and NIC (Network Interface Card) for High-frequency trading, Hyperscale Computing, Rendering and Gaming, Supercomputer, Telecommunications, etc.
Immersion systems involve submerging the hardware itself into a bath of non-conductive and non-flammable liquid. Both the fluid and the hardware are contained within a leak-proof case. The dielectric fluid absorbs heat far more efficiently than air and is circulated to a BPHE where heat is transferred to the chilled facility water.
In a 2-phase system, the dielectric liquid is evaporated to vapor phase, re-condensed into liquid phase on top of the casing. Heat is captured by fluid’s evaporation and dissipated into the condenser toward chilled facility water. Because latent heat (phase change) is far more important than sensible heat (temperature change), data center density can reach unequaled level. Also, temperature stability is over the top since phase change occurs at constant temperature. Finally, peak loads are shaved by the thermal mass that the dielectric fluid volume represents.
An alternative system makes the dielectric fluid circulate inside the racks where IT equipment is enclosed into leakproof casings. More likely in single phase, dielectric fluid actively absorbs heat and is then cooled again in the CDU. As such, immersion cooling is the best data center cooling method, encouraging future applications like High Power Computing (HPC), machine learning Artificial Intelligence (AI), Crypto Money mining, Big data analytic programs, Internet of Things (IoT) with 5G and cloud computing deployment, etc.
Not necessarily. There is a significant quantity of copper in direct contact with the dielectric coolant, which is likely non-corrosive. Hence, copper-free BPHEs is not a must. Printed circuit boards (short PCB) are used in nearly all electronic products. This medium is used to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a laminated sandwich structure of conductive and insulating layers: each of the conductive layers is designed with an artwork pattern of traces, planes and other features (similar to wires on a flat surface) etched from one or more sheet layers of copper laminated onto and/or between sheet layers of a non-conductive substrate.
In Direct-to-Chip or DTC cooling, there is no direct contact between the electronics and the cooling fluid. It is crucial that the fluid is non-conductive in order to avoid perturbating the electronics operation and deionized water could be used. When reaching high purity and low electric conductivity (typically < 10 µS/cm), pure water becomes copper-corrosive.
When the DC uses evaporative or adiabatic cooling towers to reject heat, water is sprayed on the cooling air for better efficiency and resulting in a lower temperature than with a dry cooler. Unfortunately, in addition to water evaporation, salt concentration also increases to becoming fouling and corrosive. Water treatment then, becomes necessary, including water make-up for compensation, but associated operational cost rise. In order to limit this extra-cost, systems might be operated close to minimum water quality, which could result in copper-corrosive water. In these conditions, All-SS or copper-free BPHEs should be considered, but assessed case-by-case.