Speed, Flexibility And Efficiency: The Benefits Of Modular Data Centers

As the demand for high-capacity data centers skyrockets, developers want to build more facilities, faster. Instead, they are facing major delays. 

It is estimated that between 30% and 50% of the data centers slated to open in 2026 will be delayed or won't open at all, according to research from Sightline Climate. These delays are caused by a wide range of issues, including power constraints and location problems, but they all underscore that data center owners need to find smarter, more efficient ways to build. 

Sarah Williams, product manager at cooling solutions company Airedale by Modine, said one solution operators should consider is modular construction, where a majority of the components are assembled in a factory off-site. 

“Whether it's for AI or for cloud expansion, data center operators are under pressure to bring capacity online much faster than traditional construction timelines allow,” she said, “and that's where modular infrastructure really stands out.” 

Williams walked Bisnow through the benefits of modular construction for data centers and how owners can select the right technology partner to bring their facilities to life. 

Benefits Of Modular 

Williams said the first and most significant benefit of modular construction for data centers is speed. While traditional data center construction methods can take an average of two years to complete, modular deployments can get that timeline down to six months or less, she said. 

“Modular data centers are preengineered and prefabricated,” she said. “So instead of assembling everything on-site, much of that integration happens in a controlled factory environment. These systems are engineered and approved for industrial applications. They're factory tested for deployment, and that all improves quality predictability while also reducing commissioning time.” 

The second key benefit is scalability and flexibility. Modular infrastructure allows operators to take a “pay-as-you-grow” approach, which adds capacity incrementally instead of building large infrastructure up front, she said. This helps avoid stranded capacity and also allows operators to capture available power, which is increasingly important with today's power constraints.

The third benefit is efficiency. Because modular environments are designed around specific workloads, they can be rightsized to avoid overcapacity and optimize performance, Williams said. 

“At Airedale, for example, we integrate our thermal management technologies directly into our modular platforms, and that helps operators achieve a very highly efficient cooling performance as a result,” she said. 

The next benefit to consider is cost control, she said. Not only do operators benefit from more predictable capital costs through standardized designs and up-front pricing, deployment timelines are also shorter, meaning data centers come online faster and revenue generation comes sooner. 

Finally, there are sustainability benefits to consider. Factory-based construction can significantly reduce material waste compared to traditional building methods, improve energy efficiency and lower overall power consumption.

The Modern Modular Center 

Williams said modular data centers have been around for decades but historically were seen as temporary capacity, something an organization might deploy quickly as a stopgap rather than as long-term infrastructure. Today, modern prefabricated modular data centers are an alternative approach to construction, with major components of the infrastructure manufactured and integrated in factories and designed to work together as part of a larger, configurable system. 

“Modular deployments are actually highly configurable and can be customized while still benefiting from the speed and quality advantages of factory-based manufacturing,” she said. 

She explained that prefabricated modular data centers are ideal for today’s high-capacity workloads because they can be designed around a specific application. Instead of adapting a traditional facility, the infrastructure can be engineered and optimized from the beginning to meet the needs of artificial intelligence. 

“Depending on the workload, an operator may use direct-to-chip liquid cooling, immersion cooling or traditional air cooling, and modular infrastructure has the flexibility to allow all of those technologies to be deployed alongside each other,” Williams said. 

This ability to design with a specific application in mind can also boost overall efficiency. Williams gave the example of designing a module specifically for a 140-kilowatt rack. In a traditional data hall, different rack densities would operate in the same space, which makes thermal management less efficient, leading to overcooling and hot spots. 

But with a modular infrastructure, those different densities can be separated into dedicated modules. Each module in the cooling system can be optimized for that specific application, improving the overall energy efficiency and thermal performance of the site. 

Finding The Right Technology Partner 

Operators who are interested in building a modular data center need a partner with extensive engineering expertise, specifically in mission-critical infrastructure, Williams said. 

“Data centers require extremely high levels of reliability, and partners need deep experience designing and delivering systems that meet those operational expectations,” she said. “Also, it's important to work with an agile partner that supports throughout the entire life cycle of the project. From planning to development, integration, commissioning and deployment.” 

Airedale has over 50 years of data center thermal management expertise. The company offers a full line of cooling components — from cooling distribution and air handling units to chillers, indoor cooling, liquid cooling and immersion — and offers prefabricated and preengineered, highly efficient, configurable IT, cooling, and power modular platforms that enable rapid deployment. 

The company will be able to deploy these modular platforms in less than six months, Williams said. It also offers global market and sales support to help with the commissioning and features strong operational controls, including building monitoring systems, cloud service, and system-level and component-level controls.

“At Airedale, our focus is on combining deep thermal management expertise with modular infrastructure solutions to support superior performance and meet modern speed-to-deployment expectations,” Williams said. 

This article was produced in collaboration between Airedale by Modine and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.