With precise valve, sensor, and control technology, Bürkert enables efficient liquid cooling solutions for modern data centers. Individually controllable coolant distribution at rack and server level ensures safe operation, high system transparency, scalable architectures, and energy-efficient cooling for increasing power densities.
Fluid and Media Control
With precise valve, sensor, and control technology, Bürkert enables safe and reliable control of cooling fluids in modern data centers. From flow and pressure regulation to secure shut-off functions, our solutions ensure stable and controlled operation of liquid-based cooling architectures.
Maximum Energy and Operational Efficiency
Through intelligent sensor technology and precisely tuned control loops, Bürkert optimizes the use of cooling media and energy. Load-dependent control, transparent process data, and fast response times reduce operating costs, improve PUE, and support sustainable data center concepts.
System Expertise from a Single Source
Bürkert offers more than individual components. From valves to sensors to actuators and system integration, we support data center operators and OEMs from system design through operation.
On the cooling side, Bürkert control valves, angle-seat valves, and valve islands precisely regulate flow and pressure in chiller loops, CDUs, manifolds, rear-door heat exchangers, and direct-to-chip or immersion systems, maintaining safe chip temperatures and preventing hot spots. FLOWave and other flowmeters deliver low–pressure-loss, maintenance-friendly measurement, improving pump efficiency and enabling tighter capacity control, while robust materials and modular designs reduce unplanned downtime and simplify expansion. Integrated digital communication (e.g., Ethernet/IP, Modbus, IO‑Link) lets these devices plug into BMS/DCIM platforms for real-time monitoring, alarming, and optimization.
Server-side direct-to-chip cooling circulates liquid through cold plates mounted directly on CPUs, GPUs, and other high-power chips, then rejects that heat via CDUs and building water loops to enable higher rack densities and lower energy use than air cooling. Immersion cooling submerges entire servers in dielectric fluids, transferring heat from all components into the liquid before it is cooled through external heat exchangers, particularly in single-phase systems. Both approaches rely on tightly controlled coolant flow, temperature, and pressure to protect IT hardware and maintain efficiency.
A Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) is a skid or rack-mounted system that manages and distributes liquid between the building side (chilled or condenser water) and the IT side (direct-to-chip loops, manifolds, or immersion tanks) in a closed secondary circuit, using pumps, heat exchangers, filters, expansion volume, and controls to regulate temperature, flow, and pressure for high-density liquid cooling. In a positive-pressure CDU, the pumps keep the IT loop above ambient pressure so coolant is pushed through cold plates and manifolds, and if a leak occurs, fluid escapes outward rather than air being drawn into the system, which is the classic approach versus negative-pressure (vacuum) designs.
For water quality and sustainability, Bürkert’s 8905 Online Analysis System, multi-parameter controllers like Type 8619, and a portfolio of conductivity, pH, ORP, turbidity, and temperature sensors continuously monitor make-up water, RO/ DI systems, and cooling loops. This supports proactive treatment, protects heat exchangers and piping from scale, corrosion, and biofouling, and helps operators track KPIs such as WUE and blowdown optimization. In power and “new energy” applications, proportional valves, mass flow controllers, and gas-rated valves and sensors enable precise, safe handling of hydrogen, fuel-cell media, or auxiliary fluids, aligning backup power with low-carbon goals.
Sampling wells and maintenance locations in data centers are dedicated points in cooling and water systems where operators can safely draw fluid samples, drain or fill sections of piping, or connect temporary treatment equipment without disrupting live IT cooling. They are commonly placed on chilled-water, condenser-water, liquid-cooling, and make-up water loops to sup-port water-quality checks (pH, conductivity, TDS, microbes), chemical dosing, flushing, filter changes, and other preventive maintenance tasks that keep heat exchangers and pipes clean and efficient.
Bürkert products can anchor a data center’s water quality monitoring strategy by continuously measuring key parameters in chilled-water, condenser-water, and liquid-cooling loops and sending that data to BMS/DCIM for alarms and control. This protects heat exchangers, CDUs, and liquid-cooled IT hardware from scale, corrosion, microbial growth, and contamination while supporting water-efficiency and sustainability KPIs.
Across all these areas, the common thread is digital, decentralized automation: local intelligence in valve heads and controllers, rich diagnostic data, and easy network integration. That combination allows data centers to run cooler, cleaner, and smarter—with higher uptime, lower operating costs, and a clearer path to sustainable, high-density operation supported by Bürkert’s fluid-control expertise.
