The objective of the West Cambridge Data Centre was to provide a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient, and scalable infrastructure that could support the university’s growing demand for digital services while minimizing its carbon footprint. The project aimed to achieve a 10% reduction in carbon emissions compared to 2013 levels, aligning with the university's broader sustainability goals.

The primary cooling challenges included: 
- Supporting both low-density (3.5kW per cabinet) and high-density (30kW+ per cabinet) IT loads. 
- Minimizing energy consumption and operational costs while maintaining reliable performance. 
- Developing a system that eliminates the need for traditional chillers while ensuring year-round cooling efficiency. 
- Addressing concerns over airflow management and heat dissipation for high-performance computing systems. 

The cooling infrastructure was deployed in a phased manner to ensure seamless integration with existing IT systems. Key steps included: 
- Initial deployment of hybrid dry cooling towers to test energy efficiency. 
- Adoption of elevated ASHRAE A2 temperature ranges, optimizing free cooling potential. 
- Gradual optimization of chilled water supply temperatures, increasing efficiency without compromising cooling capacity.

The implementation of the hybrid cooling system significantly improved WCDC's operational efficiency, achieving: 
- A steady reduction in Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), from 1.3 in early years to as low as 1.14 as IT load increased. 
- Optimized cooling efficiency across different workload densities, ensuring stable operations for HPC and administrative computing. 
- A 10% reduction in carbon emissions compared to 2013 levels, contributing to the university’s sustainability commitments.