Summary
- Two operational NHS data centres received modular UPS and air-handling upgrades without withdrawing the supported clinical infrastructure from service.
- The UPS systems use 252kVA chassis initially populated to provide 84kVA N+1 capacity.
- The new cooling equipment is expected to cut annual emissions by more than 58 tonnes and repay its capital cost in just over three years.
Secure I.T. Environments has completed power and cooling upgrades at two live NHS data centres in South East England, replacing end-of-life equipment while the clinical systems supported by the facilities remained in service.
The electrical programme replaced two ageing UPS systems with modular 252kVA chassis, each initially configured to provide 84kVA at N+1. A separate project replaced air-handling equipment serving a data centre connected to an acute hospital with more than 800 beds, outpatient facilities, and a busy emergency department.
The NHS Foundation Trust and the locations have not been named. Delivery required phased isolations, temporary controls, testing, and close coordination with the hospital estates team because a conventional shutdown was not available.
Capacity is installed in stages
The new Riello Multi Power UPS systems use 42kW modules within larger chassis, allowing additional capacity to be installed as the protected load grows. That approach avoids populating the complete frame before the demand exists while preserving a defined route for expansion.
Modular deployment can improve loading efficiency because fewer power modules operate at low utilisation during the early years. The rest of the electrical path must retain enough capacity for future additions, including transformers, switchboards, cables, generators, batteries, bypass arrangements, and distribution downstream of the UPS.
Installation was completed one system at a time over two weekend shutdowns. The work included underfloor containment, new cabling, direct-current transition boxes, remote monitoring, commissioning, and load-bank testing.
Existing battery strings were retained after testing rather than replaced automatically. Reuse can reduce cost, waste, and disruption, although it transfers greater weight onto condition assessment, autonomy testing, monitoring, and the management of remaining service life.
A battery system that passes an initial test can still contain cells ageing at different rates, particularly where temperature or historical charging conditions have varied. Ongoing impedance, voltage, temperature, and discharge data will be needed to establish whether the retained strings continue to support the required runtime.
Load-bank testing verified the installed UPS under controlled demand before handover. Within a healthcare environment, commissioning also needs to confirm alarms, bypasses, control interfaces, maintenance isolation, and the response to abnormal conditions rather than proving only the headline output rating.
Cooling carries the measurable return
The second facility’s original air-handling equipment dated from the data centre’s construction in the 2000s. New FläktGroup units have been designed for higher ambient temperatures and include remote monitoring and physical-security features.
Replacing the condenser compound with a ground-level arrangement changes the maintenance and risk profile. Plant becomes easier to inspect and repair, while requiring protection against vehicle impact, unauthorised access, recirculation, debris, and local acoustic effects.
The cooling project is expected to reduce annual carbon emissions by more than 58,000kg and cut energy costs by approximately £32,305. Its projected payback period is slightly above three years, although the realised result will depend on IT load, ambient conditions, set points, maintenance, and electricity prices.
Older healthcare data centres are often required to support systems that cannot be moved easily while the surrounding electrical and mechanical plant reaches the end of its design life. The retrofit programme must work around incomplete drawings, restricted access, limited floor space, and short isolation windows.
Warmer summer conditions increase the exposure of cooling equipment selected against historical weather data. A plant that once carried comfortable margin may now operate closer to its limit during heat events, particularly if the IT load has risen at the same time.
Higher allowable server-inlet temperatures can reduce cooling energy, but only where equipment warranties, airflow management, controls, and room conditions support the change. New air-handling units need to be commissioned as part of the complete room rather than treated as isolated replacements.
Training for the estates team forms part of the handover because modular UPS and new cooling controls alter maintenance procedures, alarm interpretation, spare-parts requirements, and isolation sequences. Resilience after completion depends on staff being able to recognise and manage degraded operating states.
The projects are modest in capacity beside hyperscale developments, yet the consequences of failure are severe because they support live clinical infrastructure. Careful sequencing, temporary resilience, verified commissioning, and maintainable equipment carry more weight than the overall megawatt figure.
Post-installation data will establish whether the projected savings and resilience improvements persist. Energy consumption, cooling availability, alarm trends, battery condition, and maintenance interventions will provide the clearest record of performance once the systems have operated through a full seasonal cycle.
