Vertiv DX Cooling System Helps NFrance Slash Data Center Power Costs by 20%

French cloud provider NFrance has achieved a 20 percent reduction in its data center power bills following a cooling system upgrade implemented by Vertiv, a global provider of power and cooling solutions. The modernization also eliminated the use of water for server cooling entirely, marking a significant step in the company’s sustainability efforts.

NFrance, headquartered in Toulouse, operates a single data center that has provided hosting and cloud services since 2009. Facing rising energy costs and growing demand for efficient infrastructure, the company turned to Vertiv to overhaul its existing cooling setup. Vertiv deployed its Liebert PDX direct expansion air cooling system, paired with the Liebert HPA-HCR condenser, a configuration that dissipates heat without consuming water. According to a case study released by Vertiv, the system was designed around optimized equipment sizing, dual refrigeration circuits, independent condensers, and N+1 redundancy to ensure reliable operation under demanding conditions.

The upgrade has delivered measurable results. NFrance now reports a cooling Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) of zero, and the facility’s Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) has improved significantly. The company is targeting a PUE of 1.3 by the end of 2026, a benchmark that would place it among the more efficient data centers in Europe.

Julien Dal, data center and infrastructure manager at NFrance, emphasized the critical role of infrastructure stability. “The performance of our hosting services depends on the stability of our infrastructure,” he said. “By choosing Vertiv precision cooling solutions, we not only secured 99.99 percent availability for our servers, but we also significantly reduced our PUE. Since installation, we’ve observed absolutely precise thermal regulation, even during peak loads.”

The project underscores a broader industry trend: as data center operators face mounting pressure to cut energy consumption and water usage, retrofitting legacy cooling systems with advanced air-based solutions is becoming a cost-effective path to improved efficiency. Vertiv’s direct expansion technology, which avoids the water-intensive cooling towers common in older facilities, offers a replicable model for operators in regions with water scarcity or stringent environmental regulations.