Securing data and saving energy in the PRC

The customer: Xinhua News Agency, the official, state-run press agency of the People’s Republic of China.

The challenge: Upgrade the agency’s data center cooling system to secure data storage, improve efficiency, and reduce energy and maintenance costs.

The solution: Replace the system’s outdated shell-and-tube heat exchangers and open cooling towers with efficient, reliable, SWEP BPHEs.

The heat exchangers: Thirty-eight (38) SWEP B80AS brazed plate heat exchangers were installed in 2015, with an additional two units stored as emergency back-up.

The results: Eliminated scaling, fouling and maintenance in S&T heat exchangers, reduced energy consumption, enabled free cooling in the winter.

Reliable data depends on reliable cooling

China’s Xinhua News Agency has given new meaning to the term “big data.” As the largest media market in the world, China boasts the world’s largest online population – more than 1 billion users. It is estimated that more than a quarter of this online population lives in rural areas and that nearly the entire online population of the country can access the internet via smartphone. With this many people depending on the Xinhua News Agency, it requires absolute reliability in its data center operations.

Prior to 2015, the Xinhua News Agency depended for data center cooling on a combination of shell and tube heat exchangers (S&T) and an open cooling tower. This solution soon became outdated, leading to a variety of common problems, such as scaling and fouling of the S&T and a corresponding need for increased maintenance. To eliminate these difficulties, the decision was made to upgrade the system using SWEP BPHEs.

The role of SWEP brazed plate heat exchangers

A total of 3 cooling systems were installed in the Xinhua News Agency’s new data center, each featuring two (2) SWEP B427 units. Thirty-eight (38) SWEP B80AS models were also installed. The compact structure of the SWEP B80AS allows more space for personnel to perform spot checks, while at the same time, the single, factory-welding of the BPHE eliminates the costs associated with maintaining or replacing sealing gaskets. By making it possible to take advantage of free cooling, the new system obviated the need to operate the chiller during the winter season, significantly reducing energy use and costs. The free cooling system runs at full load from December through February, with no need to run compressors.

Thanks to high thermal efficiency and a compact format, SWEP BPHEs are ideal for use as intermediate circuits to separate the external glycol loop with the internal server loop. While ethylene glycol is used to facilitate heat exchange within the brazed plate heat exchanger, for the air handling unit, the BPHE can use water to facilitate heat exchange. This process helps eliminate the risk of glycol leakage, reducing the cost of service and support.

Why choose SWEP?

The Xinhua News Agency’s headquarters is designed to be energy efficient and environmentally friendly. This ideal is exemplified not only in the construction itself, but also in the building’s daily functioning and operations. SWEP’s pledge to ‘Challenge efficiency. Make a difference,’ and its vision for creating a sustainable future by reducing energy consumption, made SWEP the right partner to address the agency’s cooling needs.

More about Xinhua News Agency

The Xinhua News Agency was founded in 1931 and has its headquarters in Beijing, near Zhongnanhai, where the CCP, the General Secretary, and the State Council are located. As of 2024, it also has more than 170 overseas bureaus. The agency publishes Chinese news in multiple languages and is responsible for adapting reports from foreign media for release in China.