UK data center operator Gyron Internet – a part of the NTT Group – is massively expanding its footprint in the country, more than doubling its presence by adding about 10,000 sq m of server room space in Spring 2015.

The build is being undertaken with NTT Communications and NTT Corporation at a 38,500 sq m site in Hemel Hampstead, north west of London, where it already operates two data centers.

It will provide additional space for NTT colocation offerings, which are already used by Spotify, Adobe, Verisign and Symantec.

Gyron said the facility, which will incorporate a modular design concept with scalable electric power, air conditioning and communications equipment designed for each server room, will be 2.5 times larger than its current footprint in the UK.

As well as using a scalable design, the facility will boost efficiency by using green cooling technology including wall injection air conditioning, water-side economization and chimney racks that will expel heat.

“By combining end wall injection with a chimney rack, it is not necessary to use the void under the raised floor, where cabling and sensor equipment impede the airflow, resulting in a shorter, simpler cooling loop and highly efficient and consistent air conditioning,” NTT said.

NTT Wall Injection Cooling

NTT said its use of a chillerless cooling system will also be a first for a third-party data center in the UK.

The chillerless system will be on offer for customers interested in the technology. It can expel heat from the server room using water circulating outside the building.

It said such an offering means 30% more energy capacity can be allocated to ICT systems.

NTT said rain water will be used in its air conditioning system and solar panels will also be installed and heat from the server rooms will be redirected to office space during the winter.

NTT said it expects these efforts in efficiency will help the facility measure a power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating of 1.2, which will make it one of the most efficient facilities in the UK.

As well as power and cooling, NTT also expects to offer redundancy in a modular fashion, with Tier IV upgrades available for customers requiring higher levels of assurance.

High levels of security will also be built in, including fire prevention equipment, barriers that can protect against vehicle attacks and a four-meter high peripheral fence.

The facility will connect with other NTT Com data centers with low latency connections offered, and at the Hemel Hampstead site Gyron’s data centers will all interact in a seamless fashion allowing for simple facility expansion.

NTT purchased Gyron in 2012 and at the time said it had plans to expand its operations at the site.