The engineering decisions taken while a data centre is being designed set its reliability, energy efficiency, resilience and room for future expansion for years to come. Most of the risks that surface in operation can already be found before construction starts, if the design is tested against the conditions it will actually face.
On the ECMWF data centre in Bologna, we used CFD simulation to validate the cooling design in normal operation and with half of the cooling units offline, and to check how roof plant exhaust interacted with the chiller intakes. The results changed the design before anything was built. Our Danilo Franchi, who worked directly on these analyses, walks through the project and what it shows about bringing specialist engineering analysis into the earliest design stages.
Held at Ložionica, Belgrade, in cooperation with the Data Center Association of Serbia, of which Energo is a member.
Duration: 45 minutes
Duration: 15 minutes
Ložionica, Belgrade. The venue has no parking; the nearest is at the Galerija shopping centre.
Danilo Franchi is Sustainability Director and partner at Energo Group. A graduate engineer from Politecnico di Milano, he built his career as a Project Manager leading MEP design and construction companies in Italy and worldwide. A LEED Green Associate and BREEAM International Assessor, he has over 20 years of experience in systems engineering and green‑certified projects, with a strong focus on cost–benefit optimization. Danilo coordinated the LEED certification of Vodafone Village in Milan, Italy’s largest LEED‑certified Commercial Interior, and advises manufacturers on developing innovative “green” products while speaking at leading industry events across Europe.
