STULZ, the Hamburg based mission critical air conditioning specialist, is celebrating the first operating year of its pioneering Jürgen Stulz Test Center. Located in Esquivias, Spain, it offers air conditioning test capacities of up to 1MW on an area of 1,110 m2, making it one of the most powerful facilities of its kind for mission critical cooling systems in Europe. It has allowed STULZ to expand its global service for the factory acceptance testing (FAT) of technical air conditioning systems, as well as factory acceptance testing for air handling units with an airflow rate of up to 240,000 m3/h.
'Unlike conventional test laboratories, various configurations and devices with different dimensions can be tested at the Jürgen Stulz Test Center, offering a level of flexibility that makes it possible to variably adjust airflows and bypasses in order to test devices exactly according to the technical specifications required by the customer,' explained Ton Fens, air handler business unit director at STULZ. 'International customers can also follow the test sequence in real time from anywhere in the world thanks to the live streaming system, without having to physically attend the test each time.'
Air handling units are manufactured at the production site by STULZ subsidiary, STULZ Tecnivel, and primarily tested in Spain. In addition to evaluating airflows and cooling capacity, the focus of such tests is also on determining the part load behaviour of the units. For this purpose, the heat load on the outside air side and on the IT room side is simulated in three parts of the new building – the outside air simulation building, the test stand and the data center simulation.
In the outside air simulation building, the supply conditions of the outside air are replicated. For this purpose, the building has a heat recovery system equipped with STULZ's own computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units. This not only enables precise mapping of outdoor temperature and humidity, but also serves to ensure sustainable operation of the test center installation. The devices to be tested are housed in the test stand, linking the outdoor simulation building with the mission critical cooling systems simulation.
The Jürgen Stulz Test Center is also increasingly being used as part of the company's research and development projects. This is not only to guarantee the reliability and quality of STULZ air conditioning systems, but also to continuously optimise energy efficiency, reduce CO2 footprint and enhance profitability – all of which are important considerations when procuring such technology.
Fens is aware of the enormous importance of manufacturer testing capacities in today's data center sector. He concluded, 'In times of increasingly extreme weather conditions, alongside the growing influence of data center environmental, social and governance requirements, testing is taking on a whole new significance. Today's customers need absolute proof that the performance they have ordered can be accessed at any time during peak load periods. The same applies to energy efficiency. With test capacities of up to 1 MW, we can make reliable statements about the performance of our technology, even for major projects. In this way, we offer customers the maximum protection, and return, for their investment.'
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