Green Ideas

At Hedrick Associates, we’re committed to helping our customers minimize their impact on the environment – not because it’s the latest trend, but because it makes sense for the future of everyone on earth. Here are some of the hottest topics in today’s commercial building market, and the “green” ideas coming out of our manufacturers.

Data centers typically consume more watts per square foot than any other space in a commercial building. Over 40 years ago, Liebert introduced the first data center cooling system. Since then, they have developed countless energy-saving innovations. The latest example is the Extreme Density (XD) line, which provide highly efficient, capacity-matched cooling exactly where it’s needed; all using “green”, environmentally friendly, refrigerant blends.

The batteries used in a traditional Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system in a data center are not especially earth-friendly. They contain lead, acid, and plastic, and they are bulky and heavy. When they reach end of life, they require a labor-intensive recycling process. As an alternative to batteries, Liebert offers flywheel energy storage systems. Flywheels are relatively small and lightweight, require very little maintenance, and contain no toxic materials.

Water conducts heat 25 times faster than air does. Therefore, it is much more efficient to cool a building or a process with water than it is with air. A cooling tower allows the water to be re-circulated and re-used many times before going down the drain. The Marley Cooling Tower Company was the world’s first water cooling tower manufacturer, and is still the largest and most innovative.

Re-circulated cooling water must be treated, to prevent scaling and harmful biological growth. However, traditional water treatment chemicals are toxic. They are dumped by the barrel-full into cooling systems, then are eventually discharged down the drain, into the environment. The Dolphin system by Clearwater is 100% chemical free. It provides complete cooling water treatment, and often results in more efficient cooling system operation than with chemicals. The only thing discharged from a Dolphin-treated system is pure, uncontaminated, water.

Over time, dirt from the air and other particles suspended in cooling water can accumulate in a cooling system, decreasing its efficiency and increasing energy consumption. The Lakos centrifugal separator is the most effective and lowest maintenance filtration system available for use with cooling towers. It keeps cooling systems running clean and at peak efficiency.