The Importance Of Trace Heating In Data Centres | Case Study

Published 06 Nov 2022

Thorne & Derrick | Stockists & Key UK Distributor

Uploaded by Natalie Lundie | Supply Chain: Marketing Lead at Thorne & Derrick

Trace Heating in Data Centres

No Time for Downtime

Thorne & Derrick, the UK’s leading Specialist Distributor of Eltherm UK Ltd’s Electrical Process & Trace Heating Solutions were approached by a large UK based Data Centre who required a frost protection trace heating system for their chilled water lines. The solution needed to prevent the chilled water lines from freezing and the room from overheating which in turn could lead in the devastating loss of data.

The strategic partnership between Thorne & Derrick and Eltherm UK Ltd has proven to be successful, with the two companies serving clients in the commercial, industrial and hazardous area industries with their heat tracing cable and system requirements.

This recent order received by Thorne & Derrick is a direct result of the referral process established between the two companies earlier this year. The client was referred by Eltherm UK Ltd to T&D’s technical team who serviced the order within 48 hours!

Thorne & Derrick’s focus is on providing electrical heat tracing systems that are reliable, efficient and effective in a timely manner. Our in-house expertise means that we can provide expert advice and design bespoke solutions to meet your specific requirements.

With almost 40 years experience in designing and delivering over 3 million metres to complex systems and major projects worldwide, we understand that downtime can be costly, and our goal is to provide our clients with solutions that minimise downtime and maximise uptime, ultimately optimising revenue and profitability.

Thorne & Derrick are the UK’s largest stockist and supplier of Industrial & ATEX Trace Heating Systems for heating of pipework, tanks, drums and vessels.

Application

How Does Heat Tracing Work In A Data Centre?

Data Centres house a large number of servers, which generate a significant amount of heat. Our internet connection is an umbilical, online life-line, to the outside world connecting friends, families and business so the stability of their facilities is crucially important.

If the temperature in a data centre becomes too high, it can cause equipment to fail, resulting in data loss, downtime and financial losses for businesses. Room cooling can be inefficient and expensive. Heat tracing prevents chilled water lines from freezing and the room overheating.

In this instance, this Data Centre had a particularly large amount of chilled water lines to ensure all their critical IT infrastructure can be kept cool. The IT equipment generates a significant amount of heat, so the chilled water lines play a crucial role in removing this heat and maintaining a consistent temperature. So the trace heating in this application is essentially being used to prevent the chilled water from freezing.

Solution

T&D’s Application Engineers supplied Eltherm’s ELSR-N and ELSR-W self-regulating heating cables. Ideal for this application as the ELSR cable has the ability to adjust its heating output in response to changes in ambient temperature. This will ensure that the chilled water lines are always kept at the desired temperature without overheating.

Once installed it will keep the chilled water lines free from frost and prevent any damage to their IT equipment. This particular cable is also suitable for use in hazardous areas and could be installed in within battery rooms should there be one on site zoned ATEX.

Thorne & Derrick were able to supply the cable from stock and 48 hours from the initial telephone consultation the cable was delivered on site.

Versatile self-regulating heating cable ELSR-N is suitable for freeze prevention & temperature maintenance in the low temperature range of industrial applications and is also approved for use in hazardous areas

Thorne & Derrick & Eltherm

The Agreement signed earlier in the year is supported by a record investment in stock levels with over 150 kilometres of cable ordered by Thorne & Derrick allowing us to be agile and quickly meet the needs of our customers as displayed in this particular case study.

Adam Rowe Technical Sales Engineer at Thorne & Derrick commented “Since the Agreement, our collaboration with Eltherm has already led to some successful projects wins thanks to the referral scheme. Looking forward to visiting Eltherm Germany’s HQ for product training in the new year. Even though I have 17 years experience in the industry there’s always room to learn more!”

Mark Wood Quote……………………………….

How Can T&D Help?

There are no shortcuts when it comes to mission critical operations like data centres. Fortunately, there are very practical, efficient and easily maintained solutions for keeping data centres cool and performing their best year around.

Here at Thorne & Derrick we understand the Data Centres require a significant amount of cooling to operate, and that heat tracing systems will prevent any unwanted freezing and keep your chilled water system healthy and happy even in the coldest weather conditions.

We can assist with the Competitive Supply & Technical Specification of trace heating systems and solutions to keep your facility operational, whatever the weather.

Since 1985 we have been providing expert technical support, competitive prices and an international delivery service for leading manufacturers of trace heating cables.