Dave Wolfenden, Heat Load: From Wang Computers to 120MW - Three Decades of Data Centre Testing Evolution

Cooling Data Center Podcast

What happens when you've been testing data centres since before "data centre" was even a term?

In this episode, Dave Wolfenden of Heat Load joins Robert to trace an extraordinary journey from COBOL programming at Heathrow Airport to becoming one of the UK's pioneering data centre commissioning specialists. Starting with Argos heaters and 500kW of rack-mounted units delivered in transit vans, Heat Load has evolved to deploy up to 120MW of testing equipment across 10 articulated lorries.

Dave shares candid insights from over three decades in the industry - from the early days of chaotic rack layouts and liquid CO2 cooling experiments to today's hyperscale pressure cooker where data halls are worth £1M per megawatt per day in lost revenue.

Together, they explore:

• How testing has evolved from basic USB sensors to real-time 3D modelling with wireless monitoring
• The logistics nightmare of juggling equipment across Europe while customers demand instant deployment
• Why immersion cooling adoption is slower than expected (and why Heat Load is ready anyway)
• The shift from owner-operators to hyperscalers - and what that means for the industry

If you want to understand how data centre commissioning really works - from the sharp end of delivery deadlines to the evolution of an entire industry - this conversation delivers the unvarnished truth from someone who's been there since day one.