Cooling + water
Closed loops and dry cooling.
Enclosed loops circulate coolant. Dry coolers and air-cooled chillers release heat to outdoor air. Cooling towers use evaporation to release heat.[16, 17, 39]
A closed loop circulates coolant.
A dry cooler releases heat to air.
A dry cooler releases heat to air.
01 / ITEquipment produces heat.
02 / LoopRecirculating coolant carries heat.
03 / AirDry equipment rejects heat outdoors.
Dry coolers and air-cooled chillers provide heat rejection without routine evaporative cooling-water consumption at that equipment.[16, 17, 39]
A recirculating internal loop can also connect to an evaporative cooling tower. Water use depends on the heat-rejection system and other building uses, including humidification.[16, 39]
Microsoft announced a new data-centre design in December 2024 that circulates liquid in a closed loop and avoids water evaporation for cooling.[18]
Cooling examples in Toronto and Montréal.
Published facility specifications and project records describe the following systems.
| Facility / building | Published cooling technology |
|---|---|
| Serverfarm TOR1.1 Toronto campus | Clark Builders describes air-cooled chillers in its campus project.[20] |
| Rogers Centre for Excellence 1 Mount Pleasant / 333 Bloor, Toronto | HIDI describes an air-cooled chilled-water plant, free cooling and a backup building connection.[21] |
| Humber College Etobicoke campus data centre | The commissioning record lists an air-cooled chiller, dry-cooler/glycol equipment and humidification systems.[22] |
| Telehouse 151 + 250 Front Street West, Toronto | Both facility pages identify Enwave Deep Lake Water Cooling. The 250 Front page also lists backup chillers.[13, 19] |
| Equinix TR2 45 Parliament Street, Toronto | An October 2014 project record lists chillers, heat exchangers and cooling towers. Equinix also publishes greywater information for TR2.[14, 15] |
| Cologix MTL1 625 Boulevard René-Lévesque West, Montréal | Cologix lists direct-expansion computer-room air conditioners, hot/cold aisles and humidifiers.[75] |
| Cologix MTL3 1250 Boulevard René-Lévesque West, Montréal | Cologix lists 600-ton N+1 chillers, computer-room air conditioning, in-row coolers and ultrasonic humidifiers.[75] |
| Cologix MTL7 1155 Boulevard Robert-Bourassa, Montréal | Cologix lists direct-expansion computer-room air conditioning, a chilled-water loop, N+1 free-cooling technology and ultrasonic humidifiers.[78] |
| eStruxture MTL-2 7001 Rue Saint-Jacques, Montréal | The operator lists raised-floor cold-air supply and a mechanical design based on free cooling.[79] |
| Vantage Montréal III QC6 campus | Vantage specifies a closed-loop chilled-water system using air-cooled chillers, with an integrated economizer for favourable outdoor temperatures.[89] |
Other Toronto district-cooling buildings: Toronto-Dominion Centre, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Rehab University Centre, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Royal Bank Plaza and Scotiabank Arena.[23, 24] Enwave’s heat exchangers separate the district circuit from treated lake water, which then enters the drinking-water supply.[25]