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EDWartens UK

Free course · Building automation

Data Centre Cooling, BMS and DCIM

How data centres are cooled, controlled and run: hot and cold aisles, CRAC and CRAH units, chilled water plant, economisers, liquid and immersion cooling for AI racks, cooling redundancy and continuous cooling, BMS design, DCIM and operations, and PUE, WUE and CUE. Built on MEP Academy, TEQNYAT and Bryce Anderson lessons.

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Intermediate
Modules
9
Video
7 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Trace the heat path from chip to atmosphere and calculate the airflow and water flow a load needs; compare CRAC and CRAH units, air- and water-cooled plant, and containment options; explain economisers and chiller efficiency in COP and kW per ton; describe direct-to-chip, rear-door and immersion cooling for AI racks; size cooling units with redundancy and plan continuous cooling through a power failure; design BMS points, controllers and alarms that survive a single failure; use DCIM for capacity and change; and report PUE, WUE and CUE.

  • Trace the heat path and calculate the airflow and water flow a load needs
  • Compare CRAC and CRAH units, containment options and air- and water-cooled plant
  • Explain economisers and calculate chiller COP and kW per ton
  • Describe direct-to-chip, rear-door and immersion cooling for AI racks
  • Size cooling with N+1 and plan continuous cooling through a power failure
  • Design a BMS that survives a single controller failure, with points and alarms
  • Use DCIM to find the limiting resource and stranded capacity
  • Calculate PUE, WUE and CUE and explain what each misses

Software

None required. A spreadsheet for the calculations.

Hardware

None.

Syllabus

9 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1How a data centre is cooled2 lessonsLab
  2. 2CRAC, CRAH and chilled water3 lessonsLab
  3. 3Data centre HVAC in depth2 lessons
  4. 4Liquid and immersion cooling for AI2 lessons
  5. 5Designing the power and cooling infrastructure4 lessons
  6. 6BMS for data centres2 lessons
  7. 7DCIM, operations and management2 lessonsLab
  8. 8Sustainability, and what comes next3 lessonsLab
  9. 9Final Assessment1 lesson

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Practise in the labOptionalTry a task from the module in the EDWartens Lab, in your browser.
  5. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  6. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

EDWartens Lab

Practise this in the EDWartens Lab

Lose a power feed, find a hot spot and read cooling and power loads against limits in the Lab's data-centre simulator.

Works alongside Data Centre Cooling, BMS and DCIM. The Lab is data-centre power and cooling practice in your browser: no install, no hardware, free to use. Sign in as a learner and it opens with your account.

Open the free lab See the Lab
Data-centre power and cooling: Run an AI data hall.

Levels to try with this course

Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.

Why practise in a lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

  • Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
  • The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
  • Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for Data Centre Cooling, BMS and DCIM

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

  • TEQNYAT

    the Datacenter Design & Operations Course episodes on power and cooling infrastructure, data centre management and operations, sustainability and green data centres, and emerging trends

  • MEP Academy

    the explainers on data centre cooling methods, hot and cold aisle containment, CRAC and CRAH units, chilled water systems, air- and water-cooled plant, data centre HVAC, refrigerant economisers, liquid cooling for AI and immersion cooling

  • Bryce Anderson

    the BMS design lessons for data centres: N+1 controller design, power and alarms

Questions

About this course

Who is this course for?
HVAC, mechanical, controls and facilities engineers moving into data centres, and data centre technicians who want to understand the cooling and BMS behind their daily work. Basic HVAC knowledge is assumed.
How is it different from Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power?
That course covers the electrical side: power paths, UPS, generators and electrical studies. This one covers cooling, BMS, DCIM and sustainability. Together they cover the two halves of data centre infrastructure.
Does it cover liquid cooling for AI?
Yes. A full module covers direct-to-chip cold plates, CDUs, rear-door heat exchangers and single- and two-phase immersion, with the flow calculations.
How long does the course take?
About 6.7 hours of video lessons across eight teaching modules, plus the notes, practice questions, the final assessment and an optional project of around 10 hours. At a few hours a week it fits into three to four weeks.
What is the project?
You prepare a colocation data hall in Singapore for five 80 kW liquid-cooled AI racks: a cooling design basis, a BMS points list and alarm list, an integrated cooling acceptance test, and a capacity and efficiency report. A worked sample pack shows each document.
Do I need DCIM or BMS software?
No. The course explains what they do and how they are designed; the exercises use a spreadsheet.
Is the course really free?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the project and the final assessment. The only paid item is the certificate, if you want it.
What certificate do I get?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a number anyone can verify on our site. It is not a vendor or Uptime Institute certification, and EDWartens is not affiliated with either.

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module