Executive Summits · by the Facility Management Alliance
Data Center Cooling Summit
Meet the data center operators whose new racks run hotter than the room was built for.
Each summit is capped at 20 sponsors. Talk to Joe before it fills.
Who’s coming so far
24 organizations have confirmed they will send facility leaders: 6 hospitals, 8 universities and 10 commercial buildings.
- Cleveland Clinic
- Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
- Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital
- The Christ Hospital
- Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital
- OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital
- Ohio State University
- University of Michigan
- University of Cincinnati
- University of Kentucky
- University of Pittsburgh
- Kent State University
- Ohio University
- Wayne State University
- Key Tower
- Terminal Tower
- Great American Tower at Queen City Square
- 200 Public Square
- Sherwin-Williams Headquarters
- Carew Tower
- LeVeque Tower
- Huntington Center
- One Nationwide Plaza
- AEP Building
Two days with data center operations directors, critical facilities managers and site directors from colocation, enterprise, hospital and university data centers who own the cooling: denser racks, liquid cooling decisions, chillers and airflow. Pre-scheduled 1-on-1 meetings. No expo hall.
The people who sign the PO for cooling projects.
Invited from facilities across Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Every delegate is screened by title and facility.
Titles
- Data Center Operations Director Uptime and the cooling plan
- Critical Facilities Manager CRAHs, chillers, CDUs
- Site Director Capacity and the budget
- Chief Engineer Chilled water and maintenance
- Energy Manager PUE and the power bill
Industries we're inviting
- Colocation data centers Density for new AI tenants
- Enterprise data centers Retrofits in live rooms
- Hospital and health system data centers Uptime for clinical systems
- University research computing Liquid cooling for HPC and AI
- Government data centers Efficiency targets, aging rooms
Past FMA delegates include energy and facility leaders from Toyota, General Motors, Sanofi, The Estée Lauder Companies and Walgreens.
Who came before.
The organizations and titles that came to past FMA summits, and the facility leaders who spoke. Past delegates are not 2027 attendees; they show who this audience is.
Who decides on cooling projects
Run the buildings
Director of Facilities
Facilities Manager
Facility Manager
Own energy costs
Energy Manager
Energy Engineer
Energy Program Manager
Write the spec
Electrical Engineer
Mechanical Engineer
Director of Engineering
Lead sustainability
Director of Sustainability
Sustainability Manager
Sustainability Coordinator
Build and renovate
Project Manager
Architect of the Capitol
Architectural Draftsman
Past facility delegates in each role, with the most common titles. Each person is counted once, in the first role their title fits; the other 194 of the 721 hold other titles.
Past speakers and delegates, by type of facility
Universities, colleges and schools
21 speakers · 188 delegates
Hospitals and health systems
9 speakers · 86 delegates
Office towers, corporate campuses and stores
16 speakers · 141 delegates
Data centers
5 speakers · 17 delegates
Cities, counties and government
35 speakers · 168 delegates
See seniority and past speakers
Seniority of past delegates: 74 C-suite, presidents & VPs · 215 directors · 248 managers · 96 engineers & specialists · 88 with other or no titles. Total 721.
See every organization and the titles it sent, by type of facility
Counts come from past FMA delegate lists, not confirmed attendance. Organization names show where past delegates and speakers worked. They are not sponsors of FMA Summits and do not endorse it.
They came back.
Past FMA sponsors, and how many summits each one sponsored, from the printed programs.
- 8Smardt Chiller GroupCooling · 8 summits
- 7LG ElectronicsCooling · 7 summits
- 2MuntersCooling · 2 summits
- 2TraneCooling · 2 summits
- 18US LED18 summits
- 17Kaeser Compressors17 summits
- 14Covanta14 summits
- 14Solution Dynamics14 summits
- 10Advanced Power Technologies10 summits
- 7BASF7 summits
- 7EQUIDEX Energy7 summits
- 6AgriPower6 summits
See the other 102 companies that sponsored two or more FMA summits
3M 2 · Acuity Brands 4 · Advanced Green Technologies 3 · Advantix Systems 8 · AERCO International 5 · Air Balance 2 · AmbiRad 3 · Ameresco 2 · Armstrong Fluid Technology 5 · Badger Meter 2 · Be Power Tech 2 · Bio-Reaction Industries 2 · BLUEFIN 4 · Bosch Thermotechnology 2 · Burns & McDonnell Engineering 3 · Camfil 2 · Capstone Turbine 2 · Chelsea Group 2 · Cleaver-Brooks 4 · ConDex Energy 2 · Constellation Energy 5 · Control Instruments 2 · CopperTree Analytics 3 · Cushman & Wakefield 2 · Cypress Envirosystems 5 · Doosan Fuel Cell America 3 · DTE Energy Services 2 · Dyson 4 · Eaton 3 · EcoSafe Zero Waste 2 · EDF Renewable Energy 2 · Edison Energy 2 · Emerson Climate Technologies 2 · Energy Management Systems 4 · Energy Source 2 · EnerNOC 2 · Enertech Global 2 · EnterSolar 2 · Environmental Resources Management 2 · ERS International 3 · ETwater Systems 2 · Every Watt Matters 2 · Eye Lighting International 3 · Facility Solutions Group 2 · FacilityConneX 2 · Fellon-McCord & Associates 3 · GDF SUEZ Energy NA 2 · GE Distributed Power 2 · GE Solar 2 · Gexpro 3 · GI Energy 2 · Green Ballast 2 · Greenstar Recycling 6 · Greenworks Energy Solutions 3 · Harris Lighting 2 · Heritage Interactive Services 2 · Hurst Boiler & Welding Co. 2 · IBM 4 · ICETEC Energy Services 2 · ICONICS 3 · Invensys Operations Management 2 · JLL 4 · Jorgensen Facilities Services 5 · K+S Services 2 · KDC Solar 2 · KERAMIDA 2 · Knauf Insulation 2 · KVAR Energy Savings 3 · LEDtronics 2 · Lutron Electronics Co. 3 · MaxLite 2 · MCEnergy 2 · MEP Associates 2 · MPC Energy 5 · Newton Distributing Company 2 · Nortec 3 · North America Power Partners 2 · North American Roofing 2 · OAKLEAF 4 · Optimum Energy 2 · Orion Energy Systems 2 · OSRAM SYLVANIA 5 · Pfister Energy 2 · PowerSecure 5 · Rinnai America 2 · Rockwell Automation 2 · ROXUL 2 · Rubicon Global 2 · SAP America 2 · Schneider Electric 6 · Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure 5 · Sloan 2 · Solar UV Solutions 3 · Solatube International 3 · Steril-Aire 2 · Synergy Investment 6 · The Dow Chemical Company 2 · Thermal Energy International 3 · Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance 2 · Viridity Energy 2 · Wahaso - Water Harvesting Solutions 2 · Zurn Industries 2
In writing, from past sponsors.
Their words, not ours.
“…the quality of people that were here and were willing to engage with Intel”
Eric DoyleGlobal Director, IntelRead the whole quote
“In working with FMA Congresses I found they were very adaptable, very willing to fit my needs into the show. I was very pleased on how they helped me understand the clients that would be there and how I should adapt my presentation. It was a good way to get introduced to the people attending the Congress. I also liked the quality of people that were here and were willing to engage with Intel... a very good experience. This was the first time we worked with FMA Congresses and the first time we have done this type of event as Intel and I am looking forward to working with FMA on future shows.”
“…we have enough time to really sit down and go through what their goals and their missions are”
Read the whole quote
“What I found different with FMA Summits versus some of the other conferences that we attend is that I’m not running around and grabbing people to talk to… we have enough time to really sit down and go through what their goals and their missions are.”
Victoria SanvilleSenior Manager, Enterprise Business Development, LG ElectronicsSet up Wednesday. Two full days of meetings. Home Friday afternoon.
Same schedule in Columbus and Detroit.
- Wednesday afternoonSponsors set up their exhibits. Everyone checks in.
- ThursdayThe full day: facility case studies, booked 1-on-1s, the reception and dinner.
- FridayMorning case studies, more 1-on-1s, closing lunch. On the road by mid-afternoon.
The hour-by-hour plan and the venues
| Time | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00 AM | Breakfast at your company table | Breakfast at your company table | |
| 8:00–10:00 AM | Facility case studies | Facility case studies | |
| 10:00 AM | Coffee and shop talk in the exhibit room | Pre-booked 20-minute 1-on-1s at your table | |
| 11:00 AM | Facility case studies | Facility case studies | |
| 12:00 PM | Lunch with your booked 1-on-1 meetings | Closing lunch with your booked 1-on-1 meetings | |
| 1:00 PM | Facility case studies | Facility case studies, then head home | |
| 2:00 PM | Sponsor setup and check-in | Pre-booked 20-minute 1-on-1s at your table | |
| 3:00 PM | Sponsor setup and check-in | Coffee and shop talk in the exhibit room | |
| 3:30 PM | Sponsor setup and check-in | Facility case studies | |
| 5:00–7:00 PM | Sponsor setup and check-in | Reception and dinner, with more 1-on-1s |
The full package's 15 pre-booked 20-minute 1-on-1s run Thursday and Friday: in the meeting blocks above, at lunch, and at the reception. Each is with a facility leader who asked to meet you, at your company table. You get your meeting schedule before you arrive, and the delegate list, with names, titles and organizations, 30 days before the summit.
Venue photos via Wikimedia Commons: Hilton Columbus Downtown by Ɱ (CC BY-SA 4.0); Renaissance Center by Crisco 1492 (public domain).
The program: facility leaders come to hear how other facilities fixed it.
The program is built from projects facilities actually finished, presented by the facility and the company that did the work. Every cooling category has room for more. If you've solved a problem like these, your story belongs on this program.
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Liquid & precision coolingInvited
Ohio Supercomputer Center, Ohio cools its Cardinal cluster's GPUs with warm water, direct to the chip
Warm-water, direct-to-chip liquid cooling manufactured by CoolIT Systems on NVIDIA H100 GPUs, the first in OSC's data center to cool GPUs this way; Cardinal ranked No. 15 on the Green500 list; no savings figures published (as reported by the Ohio Supercomputer Center)
The problem: GPU clusters run hot, and the fans that air-cool them can account for almost 25% of a cluster's power.
Published result: Warm-water, direct-to-chip liquid cooling manufactured by CoolIT Systems on NVIDIA H100 GPUs, the first in OSC's data center to cool GPUs this way; Cardinal ranked No. 15 on the Green500 list; no savings figures published (as reported by the Ohio Supercomputer Center)
Invited: CoolIT Systems and the Ohio Supercomputer Center · Read the published case
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Airflow management & containmentInvited
American Family Insurance, Wisconsin cuts cooling-unit fan energy 74% in two live data centers
Vertiv variable-speed fan drives and Liebert iCOM controls that rotate unneeded units into standby: CRAC fan energy down 74% (measured against before readings) and a 2.02-year return on investment including the Focus on Energy incentive, against an original estimate of 2.68 years (as reported by Vertiv)
The problem: Every cooling unit in the insurer's two Madison-area data centers ran single-speed fans nonstop, spares included, and the upgrade could not take a data center down.
Published result: Vertiv variable-speed fan drives and Liebert iCOM controls that rotate unneeded units into standby: CRAC fan energy down 74% (measured against before readings) and a 2.02-year return on investment including the Focus on Energy incentive, against an original estimate of 2.68 years (as reported by Vertiv)
Invited: Vertiv and American Family Insurance · Read the published case
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Liquid & precision coolingInvited
Hershey Chocolate World Data Center, Pennsylvania runs one oil-free chiller around the clock for over 10 years
A 180-ton Smardt water-cooled chiller with two Danfoss Turbocor oil-free compressors: after about 39,000 hours each, the compressors drew 2.56% and 0.62% more power than when new, within the test's uncertainty, so no significant performance degradation over an 11-year period (as reported by Danfoss)
The problem: In a data center, reliability is everything, and oil-lubricated chillers lose efficiency as they age.
Published result: A 180-ton Smardt water-cooled chiller with two Danfoss Turbocor oil-free compressors: after about 39,000 hours each, the compressors drew 2.56% and 0.62% more power than when new, within the test's uncertainty, so no significant performance degradation over an 11-year period (as reported by Danfoss)
Invited: Smardt Chiller Group and the Hershey Chocolate World Data Center · Read the published case
See all 6 stories, in 2 categories, and how a session runs
- 1The problemWhat was happening at the facility.
- 2The costEnergy, maintenance, downtime or lost output.
- 3The decisionThe options they weighed, and why this one.
- 4The workWhat changed, how long it took, what went wrong.
- 5The resultsMeasured before and after. Achieved, estimated or identified, said plainly.
- 6The lessonsWhat another facility should check first.
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Liquid & precision cooling
3 stories invited · 1 open slot-
Invited
Ohio Supercomputer Center, Ohio cools its Cardinal cluster's GPUs with warm water, direct to the chip
Warm-water, direct-to-chip liquid cooling manufactured by CoolIT Systems on NVIDIA H100 GPUs, the first in OSC's data center to cool GPUs this way; Cardinal ranked No. 15 on the Green500 list; no savings figures published (as reported by the Ohio Supercomputer Center)
The problem: GPU clusters run hot, and the fans that air-cool them can account for almost 25% of a cluster's power.
Published result: Warm-water, direct-to-chip liquid cooling manufactured by CoolIT Systems on NVIDIA H100 GPUs, the first in OSC's data center to cool GPUs this way; Cardinal ranked No. 15 on the Green500 list; no savings figures published (as reported by the Ohio Supercomputer Center)
Invited: CoolIT Systems and the Ohio Supercomputer Center · Read the published case
-
Invited
Hershey Chocolate World Data Center, Pennsylvania runs one oil-free chiller around the clock for over 10 years
A 180-ton Smardt water-cooled chiller with two Danfoss Turbocor oil-free compressors: after about 39,000 hours each, the compressors drew 2.56% and 0.62% more power than when new, within the test's uncertainty, so no significant performance degradation over an 11-year period (as reported by Danfoss)
The problem: In a data center, reliability is everything, and oil-lubricated chillers lose efficiency as they age.
Published result: A 180-ton Smardt water-cooled chiller with two Danfoss Turbocor oil-free compressors: after about 39,000 hours each, the compressors drew 2.56% and 0.62% more power than when new, within the test's uncertainty, so no significant performance degradation over an 11-year period (as reported by Danfoss)
Invited: Smardt Chiller Group and the Hershey Chocolate World Data Center · Read the published case
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Invited
US Signal turns an acquired colocation site built for 5 kW cabinets into 30 kW, with no chilled water
Vertiv CoolPhase CDU 300 units, which need no chilled water: seven installed, two or three running as the customer adds load; the customer was running in about six months; PUE probably about 1.2 in winter and maybe 1.4 in summer (estimated) (as reported by Vertiv)
The problem: The site had perimeter cooling, a 24-inch raised floor, no chilled water and no capacity for rear-door heat exchangers or direct-to-chip, and a customer wanted 415V and about 30 kW per cabinet.
Published result: Vertiv CoolPhase CDU 300 units, which need no chilled water: seven installed, two or three running as the customer adds load; the customer was running in about six months; PUE probably about 1.2 in winter and maybe 1.4 in summer (estimated) (as reported by Vertiv)
Invited: Vertiv and US Signal · Read the published case
- Open slot
Your customer's story goes here.
Solved a facility problem in this category? Propose it for the program.
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Airflow management & containment
3 stories invited · 1 open slot-
Invited
American Family Insurance, Wisconsin cuts cooling-unit fan energy 74% in two live data centers
Vertiv variable-speed fan drives and Liebert iCOM controls that rotate unneeded units into standby: CRAC fan energy down 74% (measured against before readings) and a 2.02-year return on investment including the Focus on Energy incentive, against an original estimate of 2.68 years (as reported by Vertiv)
The problem: Every cooling unit in the insurer's two Madison-area data centers ran single-speed fans nonstop, spares included, and the upgrade could not take a data center down.
Published result: Vertiv variable-speed fan drives and Liebert iCOM controls that rotate unneeded units into standby: CRAC fan energy down 74% (measured against before readings) and a 2.02-year return on investment including the Focus on Energy incentive, against an original estimate of 2.68 years (as reported by Vertiv)
Invited: Vertiv and American Family Insurance · Read the published case
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Invited
A national health system's main data center in Silver Spring, Maryland (system unnamed) saves $360,000 a year after 63 cooling units get EC fans, new controls and aisle containment
New EC fans on all 63 units, Vertiv iCOM controls with supply-air sensors in the cold aisle, a hot aisle/cold aisle containment system recommended by Vertiv, and teamwork mode across units: more than 3 million kWh and $360,000 in energy costs saved per year as verified by ICF, carbon footprint reduced 72 percent, $690,023 in rebates ($200,000 from the Maryland Energy Administration and $490,023 from Pepco) offsetting 50 percent of project costs, and an estimated payback of less than three years (as reported by Vertiv, 2020)
The problem: The 63 aging Liebert cooling units in the main data center ran constant-speed fans on an outdated controller, and the health system, which serves 12.2 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia, wanted to cut energy and be carbon neutral in 2020.
Published result: New EC fans on all 63 units, Vertiv iCOM controls with supply-air sensors in the cold aisle, a hot aisle/cold aisle containment system recommended by Vertiv, and teamwork mode across units: more than 3 million kWh and $360,000 in energy costs saved per year as verified by ICF, carbon footprint reduced 72 percent, $690,023 in rebates ($200,000 from the Maryland Energy Administration and $490,023 from Pepco) offsetting 50 percent of project costs, and an estimated payback of less than three years (as reported by Vertiv, 2020)
Invited: Vertiv and the health system (unnamed in the case study) · Read the published case
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Invited
Xfernet, California doubles rack density in a low-ceiling Los Angeles colocation site
CPI cabinet-level vertical exhaust ducts roughly doubled density to 4–5 kW per cabinet, with room to scale to 30 kW per cabinet; no savings figures published (as reported by Chatsworth Products)
The problem: Shallow raised floors, low ceilings and rising rack power made higher densities hard to reach while keeping temperatures right.
Published result: CPI cabinet-level vertical exhaust ducts roughly doubled density to 4–5 kW per cabinet, with room to scale to 30 kW per cabinet; no savings figures published (as reported by Chatsworth Products)
Invited: Chatsworth Products and Xfernet · Read the published case
- Open slot
Your customer's story goes here.
Solved a facility problem in this category? Propose it for the program.
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"Invited" means invited: none of these companies has confirmed. Results are as published by the supplier; we ask every presenter for dates, baseline costs and verified results before the program is final.
Real FMA Summit rooms. No stock photography.
Get in front of the decision makers, not the crowd.
Full package
- 15 guaranteed pre-scheduled meetings
- A 20-minute case-study session
- A fully furnished exhibit
- Your corporate dining table
- Three people at full access
Add meetings up to 40 at $1,500 each.
- Any booked meeting that doesn’t happen is added to your next summit, written into your sponsor agreement.
- Each summit is capped at 20 sponsors, each solving a different problem for the people in the room.
Want the category to yourself? Each summit is capped at 20 sponsors. To talk about your category, .
- Facility leaders ask to meet you. We seat the ones who asked at your table.
- Your booked meeting schedule arrives before the summit.
- Any booked meeting that doesn't happen is added to your next summit: miss 3, and you get 15 plus 3. It's written into your sponsor agreement.
- You get the delegate list 30 days before the summit: names, titles and organizations.
- Three people are included with full access. Extra passes are $2,900 each.
Or pick only what you wantMeetings from $15,000, talk $15,000, exhibit $15,000, dining table $10,000
One category, one summit. Prices in USD. Whatever you pick includes three people with full access. Meetings are booked on an opt-in basis before the summit; any booked meeting that doesn't happen is added to your next summit.
No vendor walks the show. Solution providers attend only as sponsors. A vendor that has not sponsored cannot register, attend or work the room, so the facility leaders you meet are not being chased by your competitors in the hallway.
The ten questions every sponsor asks.
Past sponsors answer all ten in one 5-minute film. Pick a question and the film jumps to its answer.
Now ask your own questions.
Answered on camera by past FMA sponsors. Recorded at past FMA summits.
Who's behind it.
Started FMA in Montreal in 2007 and has run every summit himself: 35 of them, 17,000+ meetings. Capped at 20 sponsors per summit, meetings booked before anyone arrives, and no vendor walks the show.
Read the full story
Cooling sponsors were in 15 of the 35 summits. Every sponsor and speaker, as printed.
Open any programSmardt Chiller Group sponsored eight FMA summits. The summit is capped at 20 sponsors.
Twenty minutes with Joe Piazza: who is coming to your summit, where your company fits among its 20 sponsors, and what the agreement says. The sponsor brief has the delegate profile, the full agenda and the itemized pricing.
35 summits since 2007. Joe Piazza, who founded FMA, runs every summit himself. The videos on this page are from past summits.