Data Center

Educational Article

Dissolvable Air Barrier (DAB): A Step Forward for Data Center Airflow Strategy

As data center and mission-critical environments become more focused on optimal performance and efficiency-led, containmesnt methods are evolving into a strategic necessity. Operators are under increasing pressure to reduce energy consumption and meet increasingly strict fire safety requirements, but the focus for this is to not have additional costs or operational complexity.

Containment delivers superior airflow management and energy efficiency, but traditional overhead systems can hinder existing sprinkler systems or create hazards during fire events. In many cases, achieving full containment requires costly sprinkler head relocation and when that is not possible, operators are often forced to accept partial containment, sacrificing energy efficiency and extending return on investment timelines.

This is where Dissolvable Air Barrier (DAB) Panels come into play, engineered to eliminate this compromise.

DAB Panels – Optimal Performance During Processes

Dissolvable Air Barrier Panels serve as the complete airflow containment system during standard operations. Offering efficient separation for both cold aisle and hot aisle containment, maintaining the reliability of supply and return air pathways, and withstanding high static air pressure. The panels are durable and easy to install, adaptable if needed to be altered on-site to handle different cabinet heights and cable trays. DAB Panels support optimal thermal management and help facilities to maintain higher supply temperatures and lower fan speeds.

In containment solutions, one key element that operators must consider is the impact of a fire incident. When exposed to sprinkler water, the DAB Panels dissolve within seconds, reducing the chance of panel-related hazards. By enabling full containment in environments where it might otherwise be restricted, DAB Panels directly improve energy efficiency and project economics. With partial containment frequently forcing facilities to lower supply temperatures and increase airflow for optimal equipment cooling, DAB Panels complete containment solution removes obstacles to complete implementation, enabling operators to enhance cooling efficiency without altering sprinkler systems.

Solving the containment and fire safety challenge

Fire performance is vital to the design of DAB Panels. These panels have achieved a Class A fire rating, the highest rating available, signifying minimal flame spread, low smoke development, and reduced heat output. The panels were tested under ASTM E84, often referred to as the Tunnel Test, which measures flame spread and smoke generation to determine suitability for interior building materials. Class A materials are frequently utilized in high-occupancy structures, for example, hospitals and schools, reflecting the highest level of fire resistance.

For cold aisle containment deployments, DAB Panels include an Air Flow Flap (AFF) that improves fire response, integrated into the panel system to open passively during elevated temperatures. The AFF is installed every six to eight feet, allowing for only a small number to be required in a standard aisle, further reducing the need for repositioning the sprinklers.

Environmentally responsible materials

The DAB Panels are made from EPA-certified, plant-based cellulose materials and contain no petroleum-based components, key to Subzero’s mission in environmental responsibility. When these panels dissolve during a fire, the materials are safe for the environment and compatible with water treatment systems, which aligns with the broader ESG initiatives across the data center industry. Despite being designed from plant-based resources, DAB Panels don’t pose shedding hazards often linked to paper materials within data center environments.

A new standard for modern containment solutions

This new acquisition of the Dissolvable Air Barrier (DAB) Panels is set to transform the potential for containment in todays and future data centers. Amongst the benefits of the solution, DAB Panels deliver full airflow separation during normal operation, dissolve rapidly when exposed to sprinkler water, achieve the highest fire rating classification, eliminate the need for costly sprinkler relocation, support faster ROI through improved energy efficiency, and align with sustainability goals. DAB Panels provide a more holistic approach to data center design by combining safety, performance, and environmental accountability into one containment solution.

Data Center

Educational Article

Speed Without Shortcuts: Modular Infrastructure at Industry Scale

The Asia-Pacific data center market is rapidly expanding. By 2030, it is projected to double capacity to reach $151.14 billion and account for 40% of global capacity.

The need for high-density, low-latency data centers is being driven by artificial intelligence and cloud services, and as businesses in the area compete to build infrastructure that can handle the growing demand for compute power, data, and connectivity, deployment speed is viewed as a crucial differentiator.

However, APAC customers are demanding rapid deployment without compromising on quality, safety, or regulatory compliance, particularly as infrastructure needs to scale from edge sites to hyperscale campuses.

The Urgency

The pressure this has put on the markets across the region means organizations need to deploy capacity quickly, but standards for operational resilience, fire safety, and energy efficiency are being raised and becoming increasingly stringent. Anything that passed inspection a few years ago may fall short of current standards. For operators, every deployment must not only be swiftly implemented but also be fully compliant with both international best practices and local standards.

And when infrastructure expands from a single edge deployment to a multi-megawatt campus, it gets significantly more complex. Poorly implemented containment, inconsistent installation practices, or gaps in compliance don’t just create minor inefficiencies; they can lead to downtime, safety incidents, or regulation contraventions.

The APAC region needs uniformity across the whole infrastructure span. Hyperscale systems must have the same level of efficiency, predictability, safety, and compliance as smaller edge installations, but to do this, they need a cohesive strategy.

Traditional Scaling Falling Short

While hyperscale campuses can scale in phases, edge locations must come online quickly to support latency-sensitive applications. Unfortunately, traditional construction techniques and integration models often struggle to keep up with the pace required, leading to deployment delays and performance issues.

In addition, APAC’s infrastructure requirements are anything but standard. From diverse locations such as densely populated, space-constrained cities like Singapore and Tokyo to rapidly growing markets that are building massive campuses from the ground up, a one-size-fits-all model soon collapses. This is especially the case when combined with a smorgasbord of different operational expectations, extreme climate conditions, and regional regulatory frameworks.

To rethink how speed of deployment is achieved, inefficiencies need to be eliminated, variability reduced, and every component should perform as predicted from the day of implementation. We need to move away from reactive, site-heavy builds and toward engineered systems that embed quality and compliance from the start.

Modular Containment

Development can be hampered by on-site unforeseen construction problems, unfavorable environmental conditions, and disagreements over trade cooperation. However, modular containment can significantly reduce these uncertainties. Produced off-site and arriving preassembled, they accelerate schedules and minimize the need for specialized personnel. Modular installation then becomes less about construction and more about integration.

From the outset, every component, including walls, ceilings, doors, airflow barriers, and cable pathways, can be planned cohesively. Modules can be designed as pre-engineered containment systems, with temperature regulation, equipment density, and airflow dynamics that are not only anticipated but also verified through testing in controlled situations.

Importantly, modular designs can be deployed in weeks, not months, making the oft-cited “up to 40% faster deployment” possible – not by hurrying the process, but by reducing complexity.

Factory-Built Quality and Consistency

Modular systems gain from greater integrity by moving fabrication to controlled production environments. Repeatable procedures, thorough inspections, and assembly with precision tools to build components aren’t always practical on a live site.

Whether deploying a single edge unit or replicating designs across multiple locations, the result remains uniform, minimizing variability between sites while simplifying operations and maintenance.

The scalability of purpose-built modular systems is a key advantage. Expanding capacity as demand increases does not disrupt ongoing operations and is especially crucial for organizations that need a more gradual expansion strategy.

Smart Customization: Global Meets Local

Modular containment also offers practical benefits for operators, such as easier maintenance, predictable performance, and simplified procurement. Smart customization to meet the demands of the region and the overall market evolution, using global components adapted to local regulations, ensures consistency across regions. The same frameworks support both small, space-constrained deployments and large-scale expansions.

The architecture may be standardized, but modular systems can be configured to fit site-specific requirements. They can be designed to suit environmental conditions, space limitations, energy grids, seismic concerns, and local regulatory standards, while power and cooling configurations can be aligned with local infrastructure constraints. Flexible layouts, formats, and materials can all be modified without sacrificing the integrity of the module by adapting and constructing it to allow for humidity, heat, or corrosion risks.

The assumption that small and large deployments require different construction strategies is challenged using modular frameworks.

Modules can be implemented in restricted spaces for smaller deployments, integrating cooling, power, and containment into ultra-compact layouts. These same designs can be predictably replicated and extended for larger builds, allowing for the option of gradual expansion without operational disruption.

APAC markets are moving rapidly, and inflexible infrastructure can quickly become an issue, but smart customization enables systems to be responsive to future requirements.

Speed Without Compromise

APAC customers want speed of deployment, but not at the expense of integrity. The providers who can deliver both will be those that stand out from the crowd. They will be able to offer rapid deployment backed by disciplined engineering, where quality, safety, and compliance are built in, not added in later.

Modular infrastructure enables the balance between local adaptability and global standardization. It can satisfy regional requirements, environmental challenges, or space limitations. Core components can be globally sourced and meet consistent international performance standards, with systems designed, engineered, and tested in controlled environments before arriving on-site.

To future-proof data centers across the globe, the APAC region is demonstrating that the fastest path forward is not one that builds faster – it’s the one that builds smarter.

Data Center

Educational Article

APAC as the New Blueprint for Data Center Innovation

The Asia Pacific region isn’t just scaling digital infrastructure – it is redefining it.

For years, the global data center industry has followed a predictable path: design, refine, and replicate at scale elsewhere. While that formula may work in a world where workloads are stable, regulations are standardized, and environmental conditions are relatively predictable, that model doesn’t really work in APAC.

This region isn’t simply growing faster. It is operating under conditions that expose the weaknesses of legacy infrastructure thinking and, in doing so, is forcing the industry to rethink how data centers are engineered, deployed, and evolved.

Why APAC Is Forcing a Rethink

APAC is not a single market. It is diverse in climates, non-standardized in regulatory regimes, and a variety of infrastructure maturity levels. The region necessitates a fresh engineering blueprint that accommodates these challenges and enhances resilience in its design.

Dealing with tropical humidities and temperature volatilities made worse with AI racks demanding up to 100 kW per cabinet creating a surge in heat densities, mean traditional cooling assumptions quickly collapse.

It can be difficult to design for AI operating in a temperate climate, but designing AI to function in tropical environments is even more challenging. These environmental factors push infrastructure to its limits, requiring a totally different mindset. APAC operators must engineer for both extremes simultaneously, without compromising uptime.

That pressure is driving more forward-looking thermal strategies, earlier planning for high-density deployments, and infrastructure that is adaptable rather than reactive.

Regulatory complexity in APAC adds yet another layer of infrastructure pressure with frameworks differing across all 15+ major APAC economies. Regulations that relate to energy efficiency, sustainability requirements, and data sovereignty laws also vary across the region.

There is no one-size-fits-all deployment model that works. Infrastructure needs to be sufficiently standardized to sustain performance, modular enough to accommodate changes, and, crucially, locally aware to prevent costly errors.

APAC includes some of the world’s most advanced digital economies alongside rapidly developing markets. However, power reliability, grid stability, and specialized workforce experience and availability can vary greatly across the region.

That variability forces a new discipline in design, insisting that supply chains must be shortened, local engineering capability must be integrated early and redundancy must be intentional.

Leapfrogging Legacy Infrastructure

But these pressures and challenges are not slowing the region down. In fact, they are accelerating innovation. Because operators cannot rely on legacy assumptions, they are bypassing them entirely. Instead of retrofitting outdated models, APAC is demanding:

Higher-density-ready infrastructure from day one
Modular scalability that can evolve with workload demand
Supply chain agility
Embedded engineering partnerships instead of distant vendor relationships

By anticipating AI acceleration, regulatory complexity, and unstable environments as ordinary operating circumstances, this leapfrogging impact is producing an alternative, proactive blueprint. Global markets are beginning to study this approach closely, because the constraints APAC faces today will be emerging elsewhere tomorrow.

Success in APAC does not come from exporting pre-packaged global templates. It comes from embedding expertise, starting with the physical and operational truth of the location — not with a design that worked elsewhere. Maintaining consistent global standards while investing in regional manufacturing, local engineering talent, and partner integration makes it possible to deliver scalable solutions without sacrificing reliability.

The operational reality of each site locality means assessing and understanding humidity loads before finalizing airflow containment strategy. Designing for Singapore’s humidity differs vastly from Sydney’s temperate climate. In tropical environments, moisture control isn’t a secondary consideration; it directly influences material selection, corrosion resistance, cable management durability, and long-term maintenance cycles.

It means anticipating AI-driven heat density before racks are installed, not after. AI clusters introduce sustained, concentrated thermal output that challenges traditional aisle containment assumptions. In many APAC markets, facilities are being built in dense environments where expansion space is limited, so infrastructure must be designed for higher density from day one.

Licensing processes, sustainability requirements, and data sovereignty rules vary not only by nation but also frequently by locality as well. Instead of navigating the approval landscape reactively, teams on the ground with local insight and knowledge can do it proactively. Developing local engineering talent is essential. Potential risks that remote design teams are unable to detect can be assessed by on-site engineers who are familiar with local building requirements, environmental cycles, and regional grid behaviors.

Then there is the supply chain fragility. The longer the global supply chain, the more vulnerable and risk-sensitive it becomes. Reducing supply chains’ length through local assembly and regional manufacturing reduces the likelihood of exposure to import restrictions, delays, and price volatility.

The Global Implication

What is happening in APAC is not a regional anomaly. It’s flagging where global infrastructure is heading.

It takes more than just implementing global solutions to succeed in APAC. As AI accelerates worldwide, regulatory complexity increases, and climate pressures intensify, other regions will face similar constraints. APAC is simply confronting them first and at scale. Bringing together global operational standards, shortened supply chains, identification of local engineering talent, and regional manufacturing can unlock scalable solutions without sacrificing reliability.

To fully understand operational reality at the site level, close integration with partners and customers is necessary. Alliances with clients and contractors that have access to workload evolution, expansion goals, and operational pain points, enable infrastructure to adjust to demand.

The signals coming from the APAC region shouldn’t just be observed from a distance. The organizations around the world that recognize and move early to rethink how they design, source, and operate infrastructure going forward won’t just navigate the pressures of AI growth, regulation and sustainability. They’ll be setting the blueprint for resilient, scalable infrastructure worldwide.

Company

Team

Day Shift vs. Night Shift: Subzero’s 2026 Manufacturing Ping Pong Tournament

Competition. Camaraderie. A little friendly bragging rights.

Subzero Engineering’s 2026 Manufacturing Ping Pong Tournament once again brought Day Shift and Night Shift together for an event that’s become a favorite inside the facility. What started as a simple bracket competition has evolved into something bigger — a chance to build energy, unity, and healthy competition across teams.

The tournament opened with Levinson Silva taking the first serve against Nexis Morales — officially launching this year’s bracket and setting the tone for a spirited competition.

From there, the matches only intensified.

Highs, Lows, and Underdog Moments

The crowd quickly formed around the table as teams rallied behind their coworkers. There were no-look shots, dramatic whiffs, and underdog wins that kept everyone on their feet.

Luis Gonzales delivered one of the tournament’s standout moments, slamming a decisive shot against supervisor Ignacio Rojas — a favorite heading into the match — and ultimately taking the win. It was a reminder that in tournament play, anything can happen.

Throughout the bracket, teammates showed up in force, cheering on semifinal walkouts and championship matchups with real energy.

Championship Round

The day shift finale featured Levinson Silva and Pedro Morillo, drawing one of the largest crowds of the event. On the night shift side, Eduardo Gonzales Campos earned championship honors after a strong run through his bracket.

In the final match, Levinson Silva claimed the winning point of the tournament — followed by a celebration that quickly turned into a team-wide moment.

The photos say it all: smiles, support, and shared pride across both shifts.

More Than a Tournament

While the matches were competitive, the true impact of the event goes beyond the scoreboard.

Events like the Ping Pong Tournament create shared experiences between departments and shifts, strengthening relationships that carry back into daily operations. Friendly competition builds camaraderie. Camaraderie builds trust. And trust builds stronger teams.

At Subzero, culture matters — and sometimes it starts with a paddle and a table.

Company

Team

Subzero Engineering Celebrates 2025 Award Winners at Annual Company Dinner

Subzero Engineering Celebrates Record 2025 Performance and Honors Annual Award Winners

During Subzero Engineering’s 2026 Annual Sales Meeting, the company recognized its 2025 award recipients at a special company dinner held at Toscana. More than 110 employees attended from across North America, EMEA, and APAC — a powerful reflection of Subzero’s growing global footprint.

The evening celebrated a record-breaking year.

CEO Shane Kilfoil shared that 2025 delivered record quarterly performance, a record December, strong employee engagement scores, and continued global expansion. While the results may look impressive on paper, Shane emphasized what truly made the year exceptional:

“We had a record year. We had a record December. Every quarter was a record quarter.”
“What makes it special is knowing how hard it was to achieve those results.”

He reinforced that success at Subzero is always a team effort — spanning sales, engineering, manufacturing, operations, and support functions worldwide. At the same time, the annual awards recognize individuals who elevate those around them and go above and beyond in pivotal moments.

“These awards are meaningful to us — they recognize the best person in the moment.”

A Year Defined by Global Collaboration

The 2025 awards reflected Subzero’s continued global expansion, particularly in APAC manufacturing and Sales Application Engineering capabilities. Cross-regional collaboration played a key role in supporting customers worldwide and strengthening operational performance.

“It takes an army to support a high-impact sales organization.”

Several award recipients were recognized not only for individual performance, but for their ability to build bridges across regions — from North America to EMEA to Vietnam — accelerating growth and improving customer outcomes.

2025 Award Recipients

EMEA Awards

Shannyn Brogan
Sales Application Engineer of the Year — EMEA
Recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Sales Application Engineering, Shannyn played a critical role in achieving ISO 9001 accreditation while continuing to deliver exceptional customer support across the region.

Alex Razvan
Engineering Excellence — EMEA
Honored for excellence in continuous improvement and product development, Alex’s innovative solutions elevated technical standards and addressed complex client needs.

Craig Brown
Salesperson of the Year — EMEA
Craig demonstrated resilience and determination in a challenging market, breaking through with new enterprise customers and expanding Subzero’s presence across the region.

APAC Awards

Bang Phan Chu
Sales Application Engineer of the Year — APAC
Bang consistently went beyond his core responsibilities, supporting customers pre- and post-sale and helping accelerate adoption of Subzero solutions throughout the Asia Pacific region.

North America Awards

Ephraim Oluwasanya
Sales Application Engineer of the Year — North America
Ephraim’s leadership, resilience, and collaborative mindset strengthened cross-regional relationships — including partnerships with colleagues in Vietnam — creating a more connected global organization.

Huy Phan Bui
Outstanding Achievement in New Product Sales Support — North American COE
Huy’s flexibility, professionalism, and global collaboration played a meaningful role in advancing new product adoption and supporting teams across time zones.

Johnny Youland
Outstanding Achievement in New Product Sales Support — AisleFrame
Recognized for leadership and collaborative impact, Johnny’s work helped drive AisleFrame growth and new product expansion.

Eli Wagner
Salesperson of the Year — North America
Eli delivered exceptional results in channel and hyperscale sales, reinforcing Subzero’s leadership in the data center market.

Engineering & Operational Excellence

Operational excellence was a defining theme of the evening — recognizing the behind-the-scenes impact that enables consistent delivery and scalable growth.

“Operational excellence is often quiet — but it’s absolutely critical.”

Blake Mahler
Engineering Support & Operational Excellence — US Engineering
Blake’s hands-on engineering support in the fab shop improved efficiency, training, and scalability — earning a standing ovation from teammates.

Carlos Carrillo
Excellence in Production Training
Carlos demonstrated exemplary leadership in developing training programs that improved onboarding, consistency, and measurable performance outcomes — also receiving an enthusiastic ovation from the production team.

Patti Hare
Operations Excellence
Patti’s operational leadership supported significant growth while improving collaboration, cross-training, and on-time delivery performance.

Rob Miller
Supply Chain Excellence
Rob’s disciplined execution in inventory control preserved valuable production days and ensured operational stability during a high-growth year.

John Garren
Site Services Excellence
Recognized for exceptional project implementation and process development, John’s field leadership embodies Subzero’s commitment to quality execution.

MCE Difference Maker Awards

The MCE Difference Maker Awards recognize individuals whose impact extends beyond a single role — helping accelerate global growth and strengthen long-term organizational capability.

“These Difference Maker awards recognize people whose impact goes beyond a single role.”

Ethan Ormsby
MCE Difference Maker — Product Support (AWS & EMEA)
Ethan’s technical expertise and global support efforts strengthened key customer relationships and supported expansion in both AWS and EMEA markets.

Nick Collings
MCE Difference Maker — Global SAE Expansion
Nick played a pivotal role in expanding global Sales Application Engineering capabilities, including extended time supporting APAC operations in Vietnam — building foundational strength for Subzero’s continued growth.

Looking Ahead

The evening closed with a clear message: Subzero’s growth is powered by safety, teamwork, respect for effort, and a relentless commitment to customers.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do what we did this year without everyone in this room.”

With global expansion accelerating and new product platforms gaining momentum, Subzero Engineering enters 2026 positioned for continued growth — supported by the people who make record performance possible.

Data Center

Press ReleaseProduct Insight

Subzero Engineering Expands Containment Portfolio with Acquisition of Dissolvable Air Barrier (DAB) Panels

PRESS RELEASE — Salt Lake City, UT

A Strategic Addition to Subzero’s Containment Solutions

Subzero Engineering is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Dissolvable Air Barrier (DAB) Panels product line from Cambridge R&D, further expanding Subzero’s portfolio of data center containment solutions and reinforcing its commitment to safety, performance, and turnkey system delivery.

DAB Panels are a unique overhead containment solution designed to provide effective airflow separation during normal data center operation while dissolving within seconds when exposed to water during sprinkler activation. This dissolvable design helps eliminate falling panel hazards and supports safer fire suppression outcomes—addressing a critical challenge found in traditional rigid overhead containment systems.

“With this acquisition, we’re strengthening our ability to deliver truly integrated, safety-driven containment solutions,” said Shane Kilfoil, President of Subzero Engineering. “DAB Panels complement our existing containment portfolio and give our customers another proven option to address airflow management and fire safety without compromise.”

Expanded Manufacturing and Streamlined Service

As part of the acquisition, manufacturing of DAB Panels has transitioned to Salt Lake City, Utah, effective December 15, 2025. This move allows Subzero to apply its established manufacturing standards, quality controls, and logistics infrastructure to the product line—ensuring consistency, reliability, and responsive customer support.

All existing product quotes issued prior to the acquisition will be honored during the transition period. Going forward, all DAB Panel inquiries, specifications, and orders will be handled directly by Subzero Engineering.

Designed for Modern Data Centers

DAB Panels are engineered for both hot aisle and cold aisle containment applications and offer a combination of airflow performance, safety, and installation flexibility. Made from EPA-certified, plant-based cellulose materials, the panels achieve Class A fire and smoke performance, producing low heat and minimal smoke while maintaining visibility for emergency personnel.

Despite their dissolvable design, DAB Panels remain durable during normal operation—withstanding high static air pressure and maintaining airflow separation where it matters most. Panels can be easily modified in the field to accommodate varying cabinet heights and existing infrastructure, eliminating the need to relocate sprinkler heads and reducing installation time and cost.

Part of a Complete Subzero Solution

DAB Panels integrate seamlessly across Subzero’s full portfolio of data center containment products, including AisleFrame systems, doors, vertical containment, horizontal roof containment systems, and airflow management systems. This unified approach enables Subzero to deliver turnkey containment solutions engineered for performance, safety, and long-term scalability—backed by a single partner and a coordinated system designed to work together.

Learn More

To learn more about Subzero’s Dissolvable Air Barrier Panels, explore technical specifications, or watch the product overview video, visit:
https://www.subzeroeng.com/dab-panels-product-overview-video/

About Subzero Engineering

Subzero Engineering specializes in turnkey, precision-engineered data center containment solutions designed for scalable, fast deployments in mission-critical environments. With a focus on performance, safety, and sustainability, Subzero’s solutions help maximize efficiency, reduce downtime, and support evolving data center demands. Since 2005, Subzero Engineering has been trusted by the world’s most demanding technology companies to contain critical environments and deliver reliable, customized solutions.

Data Center

Product SpotlightVideo

Subzero Dissolvable Air Barrier Panels (DAB) Overview Video

Subzero’s Dissolvable Air Barrier Panels (DAB Panels) deliver effective airflow containment while addressing a critical safety challenge in traditional overhead containment systems. Designed to maintain airflow separation during normal operation—and dissolve within seconds during sprinkler activation—DAB Panels help improve data center efficiency without introducing falling panel hazards during fire suppression events.

Why DAB Panels

In mission-critical environments, containment solutions must balance performance, safety, and adaptability. Traditional rigid panels can obstruct sprinkler systems or create hazards when displaced. DAB Panels were engineered to work with fire suppression systems—providing containment when needed and dissolving cleanly when safety takes priority.

Key Benefits:

Dissolvable by Design
Provides airflow separation during operation, then dissolves rapidly when exposed to water during sprinkler activation.
Safety-Driven Materials
Made from EPA-certified, plant-based cellulose materials—non-petroleum based and Class A fire rated.
Fire & Smoke Performance
Low heat, low smoke, and controlled burn behavior help preserve visibility for emergency personnel.
Durable in Operation
Withstands high static air pressure and maintains shape under normal operating conditions.
Flexible Installation
Lightweight, field-cuttable panels adapt easily to varying cabinet heights, infrastructure, and containment layouts—without relocating sprinkler heads.
Enhanced Strobe Visibility
Panel material diffuses fire alarm strobes, improving visual alerting throughout the containment space.

Designed for Real-World Data Centers

DAB Panels install quickly in both new builds and retrofit environments. Panels can be modified onsite to fit around cable trays, piping, and other overhead infrastructure, allowing full containment coverage to the ceiling while reducing installation time and cost.

Part of Subzero’s Turnkey Containment Solutions

DAB Panels integrate seamlessly across Subzero’s full portfolio of data center containment products—supporting truly turnkey solutions engineered for performance, safety, and long-term scalability. One partner. One system. Designed to work together.

Explore DAB Panel Specifications

Ready to dive deeper into technical details, certifications, and configuration options?

View DAB Panel Product Specifications

Data Center

Educational Article

Question & Answers: CDUs -The Brains of Direct Liquid Cooling

In this Q&A, Gordon Johnson, Senior CFD Manager at Subzero Engineering, explores the pivotal role CDUs play in transforming data center operations. From maintaining system integrity and adapting to variable AI workloads to driving energy efficiency and future scalability.

An Interview with Gordon Johnson, Senior CFD Manager at Subzero Engineering

Overview

As data centers evolve to meet the exponential power and cooling demands of AI and high-performance computing (HPC), traditional air-cooling methods are reaching their limits. Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC) has emerged as the next frontier in thermal management, offering the precision and efficiency needed for today’s high-density workloads. At the heart of this innovation lies the Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) – the intelligent control layer that ensures safety, stability, and sustainability in liquid-cooled environments.

QUESTION: What initiated the transition towards Direct Liquid Cooling, and what makes CDUs crucial for development?

The increase in AI and high-performance computing (HPC) demands has pushed rack power densities beyond the capabilities of conventional air-cooling strategies. High-end server CPUs and GPUs are approaching or even exceeding 700–1000 watts per socket, especially in AI and HPC deployments, and air-cooling can’t remove the generated heat amounts effectively. Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC), especially Direct-to-Chip (DTC) cooling, delivers accuracy and thermal capacity needed at these densities. However, DLC works effectively with a control layer, which is the CDU, allowing for regulations on pressure, flow, and temperature to guarantee consistent thermal performance. It transforms liquid cooling from a mechanical method into an adaptive system to accommodate high-density workloads.

QUESTION: In what ways does the CDU maintain safety and stability in a liquid-cooled data center?

The CDU acts as a safeguard between the facility’s water system (FWS) and the IT equipment. It separates the technology cooling system (TCS) loop from pollutants, pressure variations, and chemical substances present in the FWS loop, guaranteeing that the fluid supplied to the cold plates attached directly to the CPUs and GPUs is pure, regulated, and non-conductive.

By utilizing integrated sensors, pumps, and heat exchangers, the CDU regulates the ideal coolant temperature and pressure, avoiding condensation, and safeguarding hardware from thermal fluctuations. This separation protects IT resources as well as improving predictability and operational performance throughout the cooling system.

QUESTION: AI and HPC tasks are recognized for quick changes in power consumption. How do CDUs handle this uncertainty?

AI training and inference tasks are highly variable. GPUs can either increase or decrease performance quickly, resulting in immediate temperature surges. CDUs address these changes by adjusting pump speeds, flow rates, temperature, and valve positions to evenly distribute the load.

By continuously adapting to the workflow demand, CDUs maintain stable pressure and temperature throughout all racks. This degree of regulation guarantees that even in unstable environments, operations can run with limited risks and maintain a prolonged equipment lifecycle.

QUESTION: Are there different types of CDUs for varying facility sizes and requirements?

CDUs are usually classified into two primary groups:

Liquid-to-Liquid CDUs: These utilize heat exchangers to move heat from the TCS (IT coolant loop) to the FWS and are best deployed for large-scale or HPC data centers with existing chilled water infrastructure.
Liquid-to-Air CDUs: These expel heat straight into the ambient air within the data center via an internal exchanger, rendering them ideal for smaller or edge facilities, and where a FWS or chilled water is unavailable.

Both offer similar control, isolation, and safety advantages, but the decision typically relies on the site’s existing infrastructure and cooling capability.

QUESTION: In what ways do CDUs help achieve sustainability and energy efficiency goals?

CDUs play a crucial role in sustainable thermal management as they help avoid excessive pumping and cooling, which are significant causes of energy wastage in data centers. Smart flow and temperature regulation enhance Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE), with PUE figures at times even reaching below 1.1.

Also, CDUs facilitate the integration of waste heat recovery systems, enabling operators to utilize surplus heat for district heating or industrial applications. This converts a byproduct into a sustainability resource, decreasing overall energy use and promoting circular energy approaches.

QUESTION: How do CDUs enhance scalability for future liquid cooling installations?

A significant benefit of the CDU is its flexibility, employing mixing and bypass control to adjust liquid coolant for particular IT loads. This adaptability allows operators to gradually implement liquid cooling, without the need for complete infrastructure overhauls. Therefore, CDUs render liquid cooling attainable, expandable, and secure, enabling data centers to progress alongside workload requirements and sustainability objectives.

QUESTION: What part do CDUs play in influencing the future of thermal management?

CDUs serve as the thermal regulation system in contemporary data centers. They provide intelligence, isolation, and efficiency to Direct Liquid Cooling, ensuring scalability, and sustainable functioning of high-density settings, and create an accurate framework that is purposefully designed for the AI era.

About Subzero Engineering:

Subzero Engineering specializes in providing turnkey, precision-engineered data center containment solutions that are designed for industry-leading functionality and scalable fast deployments. With a focus on sustainability, our solutions are built to provide maximum efficiency, minimize downtime, and reduce energy consumption. Our team of experts works closely with clients to understand their unique needs and requirements, and we pride ourselves on delivering customized solutions that exceed expectations. Whether you’re looking for a new data center build or an upgrade to an existing facility, our turnkey solutions are designed to deliver exceptional results. Since 2005, we have been containing critical environments and providing exceptional solutions to the world’s most demanding technology companies.

www.subzeroeng.com

Data Center

Educational Article

CDUs: The Brains of Direct Liquid Cooling

As AI and HPC workloads push rack densities beyond the limits of air cooling, Coolant Distribution Units have emerged as the intelligent control layer that makes direct liquid cooling scalable, stable, and safe.

By Subzero Engineering

Why Direct Liquid Cooling Requires an Intelligent Control Layer

Traditional air cooling has hit its limits as rack power densities surpass 100 kW due to the relentless growth of AI and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads. Already, CPUs and GPUs exceed 700–1000 W per socket, while projections estimate 1500 W+ going forward. Fans and heat sinks are just unable to handle these thermal loads at scale; air cooling has hit its limits.

Hybrid cooling strategies are becoming the only scalable, sustainable path forward.

Single-phase direct-to-chip (DTC) liquid cooling has emerged as the most practical and serviceable solution, delivering coolant directly to cold plates attached to processors and accelerators. However, Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC) cannot be scaled safely or efficiently with plumbing alone. The key enabler is the Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) – a system that integrates pumps, heat exchangers, sensors, and control logic into a coordinated package.

CDUs are often mistaken for passive infrastructure. But far from being a passive subsystem, they act as the brains of DLC, orchestrating isolation, stability, adaptability, and efficiency to make DTC viable at data center scale. They serve as the intelligent control layer for the entire thermal management system.

Intelligent Orchestration

CDUs do a lot more than just transport fluid around the cooling system. They think, adapt, and protect the liquid cooling portion of the hybrid cooling system. They maintain redundancy to ensure continuous operation, control flow, and pressure using automated valves and variable speed pumps, filter particulates to protect cold plates, and maintain coolant temperature above the dew point to prevent condensation. They contribute to the precise, intelligent, and flexible coordination of the complete thermal management system.

Because of their greater cooling capacity, CDUs are ideal for large HPC data centers. However, because they must be connected to the facility’s chilled water supply or other heat rejection source to continuously provide liquid to the cold plates for cooling, they can be complicated.

CDUs typically fall into two categories:

Liquid to Liquid (L2L): Large HPC facilities are well-suited for high-capacity CDUs known as L2L. Through heat exchangers, they move chip heat into the isolated chilled water loop, such as the facility water system (FWS).
Liquid to Air (L2A): For smaller deployments, L2A CDUs are simpler but have a lower cooling capacity. By utilizing conventional HVAC systems, they transfer heat from the returning liquid coolant from the cold plates to the surrounding data center air by using liquid to air heat exchangers rather than a chilled water supply or FWS.

Isolation: Safeguarding IT from Facility Water

Acting as the bridge between the FWS and the dedicated technology cooling system (TCS), which provides filtered liquid coolant directly to the chips via cold plate, CDUs isolate sensitive server cold plates from external variability, ensuring a safe and stable environment while constantly adjusting to shifting workloads.

One of L2L CDU’s primary functions is to create a dual-loop architecture:

Primary loop (facility side): connects to building chilled water, district cooling, or dry coolers.
Secondary loop (IT side): delivers conditioned coolant directly to IT racks.

CDUs isolate the primary loop (which may carry contaminants, particulates, scaling agents or chemical treatments like biocides and corrosion inhibitors – chemistry that is incompatible with IT gear) from the secondary loop. As well as preventing corrosion and fouling, this isolation offers operators the safety margin that operators need for board-level confidence in liquid.

The integrity of the server cold plates is safeguarded by the CDU, which uses a heat exchanger to separate the two environments and maintain a clean, controlled fluid in the IT loop. Because CDUs are fitted with variable speed pumps, automated valves, and sensors, they can dynamically adjust the flow rate and pressure of the TCS to ensure optimal cooling even when HPC workloads change.

Stability: Balancing Thermal Predictability with Unpredictable Loads

HPC and AI workloads are not only high power, they are also volatile. GPU-intensive training jobs or changeable CPU workloads can cause high-frequency power swings, which without regulation, would translate into thermal instability. The CDU mitigates this risk by controlling temperature, pressure, and flow across all racks and nodes, absorbing dynamic changes and delivering predictable thermal conditions.

The CDU absorbs fluctuations by stabilizing temperature, pressure, and flow across all racks and nodes, regardless of how erratic the workload is. Sensor arrays ensure the cooling loop remains in accordance with specifications, while variable speed pumps modify flow to fit demand, and heat exchangers are calibrated to maintain an established approach temperature.

Adaptability: Bridging Facility Constraints with IT Requirements

The thermal architecture of data centers varies widely; some use warm-water loops that operate at temperatures between 20 and 40°C. By adjusting secondary loop conditions to align IT requirements with the facility, the CDU adjusts to these fluctuations. The CDU uses mixing or bypass control to temper supply water. It can alternate between tower-assisted cooling, free cooling, or dry cooler rejection depending on the environmental conditions, and it can adjust flow distribution among racks to align with real-time demand.

This adaptability makes DTC deployable in a variety of infrastructures without requiring extensive facility renovations. It also makes it possible for liquid cooling to be phased in gradually – ideal for operators who need to make incremental upgrades.

Efficiency: Enabling Sustainable Scale

Beyond risk and reliability, CDUs unlock possibilities that make liquid cooling a sustainable option.

By managing flow and temperature, CDUs eliminate the inefficiencies of over-pumping and over-cooling. They also maximize scope for free cooling and heat recovery integration such as connecting to district heating networks and reclaiming waste heat as a revenue stream or sustainability benefit. This allows operators to simultaneously lower PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) to values below 1.1 while simultaneously reducing WUE (Water Usage Effectiveness) by minimizing evaporative cooling. All this, while meeting the extreme thermal demands of AI and HPC workloads.

CDUs as the Thermal Control Plane

Viewed holistically, CDUs are far more than pumps and pipes. They are the thermal control plane for thermal management, orchestrating safe isolation, dynamic stability, infrastructure adaptability, and operational efficiency.

They translate unpredictable IT loads into manageable facility-side conditions, ensuring that single-phase DTC can be deployed at scale, enabling HPC and AI data centers to evolve into multi-hundred kW racks without thermal failure.

Without CDUs, direct-to-chip cooling would be risky, uncoordinated, and inefficient. With CDUs, it becomes an intelligent and resilient architecture capable of supporting 100 kW and higher racks and the escalating thermal demands of AI and HPC clusters.

As workloads continue to climb and rack power densities surge, the industry’s ability to scale hinges on this intelligence. CDUs are not a supporting component. They are the enabler of single-phase DTC at scale and a cornerstone of the future data center.

Data Center

Educational Article

Immersion Cooling: Lagging Today, Leading Tomorrow

While direct-to-chip cooling dominates today’s data centers, immersion cooling may ultimately define how the industry scales performance, efficiency, and sustainability tomorrow.

By Subzero Engineering

The Safe Choice Today vs. the Scalable Choice Tomorrow

For many large-scale deployments, direct-to-chip (DTC) single-phase cooling has emerged as the market’s preferred direct liquid cooling (DLC) technique.

It is easy to see why. DTC is dependable, well-established, and reasonably simple to incorporate into the current data center infrastructure. For risk-sensitive facilities that are wary of operational disruption or retrofit headaches, DTC is the logical choice, and that’s why it has become the dominant DLC standard.

But the “logical choice today” is not the same as the “best choice for the future.” Technically, the superior solution is immersion cooling. With the ability to support denser racks than air cooling or DTC, immersion cooling offers higher heat removal capacity by immersing entire servers in dielectric fluids. Right now, immersion cooling is mostly used in specific areas such as crypto mining, experimental high-performance computing, and some edge computing setups. However, it hasn’t gained much popularity in the data center market yet, mainly due to high initial costs, the need for special infrastructure, and the challenges of training people to use it.

But with the consistent trajectory of compute, energy economics, and environmental pressures, is immersion cooling simply waiting for its moment to shine?

Why DTC Leads Today

Today, DTC dominates the market due to its ease of use. DTC solutions can be deployed in standard racks with minimal retrofits, data center teams don’t need to undergo extensive retraining, and maintenance procedures stay somewhat familiar. More than anything else, DTC is a straightforward solution for organizations that are unable or unwilling to re-architect their environments for immersion cooling in the face of increasing power densities.

Why Immersion Lags

Immersion Cooling is still in the early adoption and growth phase rather than being fully mature however, its efficiency improvements indicate that it will soon move from being a specialized solution to a vital component of hyperscalers’, HPC operators’, and edge deployments’ thermal management arsenal.

So why isn’t immersion adopted more often if it is a technically superior solution?

High CAPEX: Immersion costs are significantly more than DTC retrofits because it requires specialized tanks, dielectric fluids, pumps, and monitoring systems.
Specialized Infrastructure: Racks replaced with tank-based designs require redesign of cabling, power distribution, and architectural layouts.
Learning Curve: Hardware compatibility, fluid handling, and maintenance considerations all call for retraining and skill sets.

The high initial expenditures, specific infrastructure requirements, and a process that hasn’t yet unified on a single model are the main obstacles to immersion today. Therefore, is it too disruptive to consider seriously?

The Case for Immersion

History has shown us that often the “niche” of today becomes the necessity of tomorrow.

Immersion cooling solves problems that DTC can only mitigate.

Unmatched thermal performance: Immersion can absorb heat from all components, not just CPUs and GPUs, by completely submerging servers in dielectric fluids.
Extreme density potential: Racks can be packed much more densely without needing to depend on airflow. This enables higher compute density per square foot.
Energy efficiency: Immersion cooling can significantly lower power usage associated with cooling. Power usage effectiveness (PUE) levels of 1.02 to 1.05 have been observed by some operators.
Sustainability: Immersion does not use water as the primary cooling method, which is a developing benefit in areas with water scarcity compared to evaporative cooling technologies. However, water may still be used indirectly to carry heat away from the dielectric fluid via heat exchangers and via chillers or cooling towers to reject heat from the building.
Hardware longevity: Immersion can increase the useable life of servers by removing hot spots and thermal cycling.

Additionally, immersion cooling eliminates the need of airflow from data center design. Operators can completely redesign facility layouts without the requirement for air-handling infrastructure, raised floors, or large HVAC systems. However, experts in both air and immersion cooling still predict a future where both air and immersion will coexist in the industry depending on specific cooling needs.

What Will Force the Shift?

Operators cannot afford ineffective thermal management as power costs grow, and the trajectory of compute power continues to rise. Rack power densities are already increasing beyond that which air and DTC cooling can sustainably handle as processors get near 1000W+ TDP levels. Energy prices remain volatile and demands for efficiency and sustainability are being driven by environmental challenges.

Can immersion’s higher upfront investment be justified when weighed against long-term energy savings, environmental benefits, and the ability to extend hardware lifecycles?

Tipping Point

In the near term, DTC will remain the workhorse, as it’s good enough to buy operators time without demanding a full architectural reset. However, immersion’s tipping point won’t arrive because the technology suddenly becomes more appealing. It will arrive when nothing else works. DTC won’t scale forever.

The long-term goal will likely be immersion. Workload trends, power densities, and sustainability requirements all point to a future in which immersion is not only viable but the only workable option.

At that point, immersion will go from trailing to prevailing, but the changes will go beyond thermal efficiency. Data center architecture will evolve, altering not just cooling strategies but the data center’s architecture. A new approach will be unlocked by tank-based designs, fluid-centric maintenance, and different hardware form factors, where cooling will no longer be a limitation but rather a facilitator of sustainability, performance and efficiency.

This is about enabling the next generation of computational infrastructure, not simply about cooling.

Conclusion

The issue is not if immersion will catch up, but rather when high-density workloads will force the shift.

When it does, will operators be prepared? Those who still view immersion as a fringe experiment run the danger of having to rush to catch up when DTC reaches its limit, whereas those early adopters will be able to take the lead since they will already be training, developing, and cultivating knowledge and expertise.

For data centers, the future of cooling won’t be about being cautious. It will belong to those who are brave enough to wager on immersion before the tipping point happens.