Case Study: Digital Realty achieves over 1 billion gallons of water savings and reduced energy use with Vertiv's Liebert DSE

Digital Realty - Customer Case Study

Digital Realty, a global owner and operator of data centers, needed more cost‑effective, flexible cooling that met strict California economization rules while reducing operational expense and environmental impact. Vertiv proposed replacing traditional chilled‑water systems with its Liebert® DSE™ pumped‑refrigerant economization solution to address capex/opex concerns and improve thermal performance.

Vertiv implemented factory‑mounted Liebert DSE skid systems—combining pumped refrigerant economizers, high‑efficiency condensers and intelligent controls—to run most of the year in low‑power economization mode and eliminate water use for cooling. Vertiv’s solution delivered roughly 12% average energy reductions (≈293–300 MWh per 1.2 MW), an average PUE improvement of 8%, about 4.3 million gallons of water saved per year per 1.2 MW site, and has helped Digital Realty save more than 1 billion gallons of water since 2013; the results earned a California Energy Commission compliance exception and Vertiv systems are now deployed across Digital Realty sites in California, Virginia, Texas and Australia.

Digital Realty

Kevin Dalton

Vice President of Global Engineering and Design