Orange BIH data centre, Gaborone

Orange Botswana had been operating in Botswana for the last 20 years without any purposed built data centre to maximise digital transformation and contribute to the sustainable development of the country.

The appointment of the AOS team was a major milestone as the first consulting team on the African continent to work on a DC for Orange as signed off and approved by their European HQ.

The project was completed within a year and Orange was able to migrate from December 2019, just in time for the global lockdown. In addition, this project was awarded the Uptime Institute Tier III certification for both design and facility. The award was the first Tier III design in Botswana and only the second Tier III facility in Southern Africa.

Environmental innovation
The project team selected materials whose operations reflected the local environment. The elimination of the use of water for the operation of the HVAC system. The use of the VRF system was the first of its kind in a data centre environment in Botswana.

The system uses high efficiency inverter compressors and DC fan motors. The power consumption is monitored internally with on-board electronics including current transformers (CT’s) to ensure stable and efficient power consumption. In addition to this, the system is equipped with a Heat Interchange Circuit (HIC) which provides additional sub-cooling improving the capacity of refrigerant delivered to the expansion device.

The effect of this is a reduction on refrigerant volume generated by the compressor, saving additional electrical energy. All of the mentioned makes it easier for a building to achieve a Net Zero energy use rating.

Resilience
The outdoor unit has a guaranteed ambient operating range of between -20°C and +52°C to allow the system to function in harsh conditions. The system is also equipped with an electrical noise filter circuit protecting the electronic circuits of the system. This means that no additional third-party protecting devices is required. The electrical noise filter circuit protects against over voltage and under voltage conditions and is equipped with an auto phase correction facility.

The system is also programmed for a quick auto power recovery to ensure quick start-up operation after a power failure. The heat exchanger of the outdoor unit is treated for corrosion protection as a standard feature to offer additional resilience.