The cloud.
It’s a phrase we’re all familiar with, and a “place” most people don’t put too much thought into. Although it sounds ethereal, the cloud is actually a network of servers located in real places – data centers – across the country and the globe, accessed via the internet.
These data centers, which house AI and cloud storage servers, are huge buildings full of heat-producing electronics. Data centers require an enormous amount of chilled water piping and ductwork, which in turn means massive amounts of pipe and duct insulation are also needed. Because these facilities require a large amount of power to operate, proper insulation of chilled water and duct systems can dramatically reduce the energy needed.
As the need for data centers continues to increase, the insulation industry is quickly learning about their needs and working to address them.
Massive amounts of insulation
“The common trend is that chilled water piping is operating at 60-80 degrees, so the indoor chilled water piping tends to not require as much insulation,” said Matt Kipphut, Project Manager and Estimator for PCI (Performance Contracting, Inc.). “There is a large amount of piping on the outdoors, with all the chillers on the roof and connections to the chillers. Depending on the size of the data center, we’re talking about tens of thousands of linear feet of pipe outside.”
And, much of the piping is not small. Matt Caldwell, President of Caldwell Insulation in Georgia, said he’s seeing an “extraordinary amount of 30-inch pipe used around the country.”
All of that piping has to be insulated, which requires a significant amount of product such as JM Micro-Flex®. Kipphut said 2” thick insulation is common on data center piping.
A great benefit of Micro-Flex is that it can be purchased in 3-foot or 4-foot width rolls, meaning the contractor has flexibility to choose their preference of widths for a specific installation.
The volume of product needed for a data center project is large, which then potentially leads to other difficulties.“Our biggest challenge is material delivery and storage and product availability,” said Kipphut. “Our laydown yards are small, and we can’t put multiple storage containers on site, which prevents us from ordering in large quantities. We rely on distributors to help as they can, but sometimes it can really be a rock and a hard place with the schedules.”
Another great benefit of Micro-Flex as compared to a rigid pipe insulation product is shipping and storage. You can get a lot more Micro-Flex on a truck (or in a storage area). For example, for 18x2-inch pipe insulation, a truckload holds 732 linear feet of Micro-Lok® HP, while a truckload of Micro-Flex provides 3,328 linear feet – four and a half times as much product!
For those looking for a rigid pipe insulation, Micro-Lok and Trymer® are both good choices from Johns Manville.
Micro-Lok is preformed fiberglass pipe insulation with an all-service (ASJ) vapor retarder jacket. Micro-Lok has excellent thermal conductivity and is made from 41% recycled glass, so it’s GreenGuard Gold certified. It’s also suitable for use with stainless steel and is available for pipes up to 24”. The Micro-Lok HP Ultra jacket can withstand intermittent, temporary exposure to transient moisture, making it great for climates with humidity and condensation concerns.
Trymer 25-50 polyisocyanurate (PIR) is a closed-cell foam insulation. It’s easily fabricated to fit varying pipe sizes and comes with a pre-applied vapor retarder. Different varieties of Tymer are available for plenum and non-plenum needs. High density Trymer can be used in pipe supports, regardless of the type of pipe insulation used throughout the rest of a system.
Greg Newman, Vice President of Design Build, Mechanical Insulation, at Insulation Midwest in Minnesota, echoed Kipphut’s sentiments about material ordering and storage.
“We have to preorder ahead of time, but then we only have limited spots and can’t store anything inside the buildings,” Newman said. “The construction is also so busy that it’s unreal and you’ve got to work inside a particular schedule, so it’s difficult.”
Johns Manville, like the rest of the insulation industry, is experiencing strong demand as more data centers are constructed.
The other piece of the insulation puzzle in data centers is for ductwork. Newman said the majority of ducts he sees in data centers range from 40 to 80 inches in diameter, with a few even larger.
For external duct insulation, products like JM Microlite® duct wrap are in high demand for insulating air handlers and ducts. For internal duct insulation, Linacoustic® duct liner provides superior acoustic and thermal performance to the system.
Microlite is a blanket-type fiberglass insulation that offers superior thermal performance and condensation control, available with an FSK facing or PSK facing in black or white for aesthetics. Microlite is a great option for large-sized ducts because it is lightweight, making it easy to install.
Linacoustic RC is a rolled insulation product that is installed on the interior of the duct to provide thermal, condensation and acoustic control to the system. Linacoustic RC’s airstream surface is coated with our proprietary Permacote® coating, which provides a durable surface that is resistant to dust and dirt and provides added product protection against microbial growth.
Timing, location and other considerations
Power is a major consideration for data center construction. The buildings require an enormous amount of electrical power, so its availability sometimes influences the location of new projects.
“These data centers are built on grids, and some of them use so much power that they can’t be on the same grid,” Newman said. “In the Midwest, we have redundant data centers – two of the same on two different grids – for back-up purposes.
”Kipphut said he’s seen several data center campuses, where multiple buildings are grouped together, and that presents several challenges.
“In Arizona, for example, they want to build seven of these and we’re working on building number two, all pretty close together,” Kipphut said. “Power – and water in Arizona – are going to be a big problem.
”Proper insulation on chilled water piping and ducts can help with the power issue. It is essential for maintaining energy efficiency, especially in environments like data centers where temperature control is critical. Inadequate insulation can lead to temperature fluctuations, increasing power consumption and operational costs.
The timeframe for building data centers varies, though Kipphut said many that he’s worked on take 18-24 months.
“Usually, one big building is separated into thirds, different phases,” Kipphut said. “We might need 6,000 feet of pipe insulation for the first phase, and then a few months later another 6,000-7,000. As a contractor, I try to store a reasonable amount of insulation, usually 2” thick, to keep it available. With all of these data center builds going on, there’s so much need.”
Ongoing demand
As AI continues to grow, construction of data centers is not likely to slow down soon. If current trends continue, it could be that constraints such as electricity, space and even mechanical insulation could likely affect data center growth.
Check out all of JM’s offerings for piping and ductwork insulation for this high demand industry.
