EkkoSense: Data-centre cooling analysis, thermal sensing and capacity planning

EkkoSense combines wireless thermal sensors with EkkoSoft Critical software for data-centre cooling, power and capacity analysis.

Summary

Best for
Data-centre teams managing cooling energy, thermal risk and rack-level capacity.
Less suited to
Projects requiring an on-premises software installation or autonomous control from the standard platform.
Deployment
Cloud software with wireless sensors, receivers and optional integration hardware.
Data in
Temperature, humidity, cooling-duty and power data, including Modbus, SNMP and oBIX sources.
Pricing
Public pricing was not established from the reviewed sources.

Overview

EkkoSense focuses on the thermal and electrical operating conditions inside data centres. Its software portfolio combines EkkoSoft Critical with EkkoSim rather than presenting energy management as a general office-building dashboard. The operational software places measurements within a three-dimensional representation of the facility and helps teams understand available cooling, power and space. It addresses conventional air-cooled halls alongside newer liquid and hybrid cooling environments. The distinction matters for operators balancing new compute loads against existing infrastructure: rack placement, cooling duty and available capacity become connected decisions, not simply separate temperature alarms and monthly electricity reports.

Offering

The Critical Things hardware family supplies temperature and humidity measurements from battery-powered wireless sensors. EkkoAir measures cooling duty, while EkkoHub receivers collect sensor transmissions. EkkoLink adds aggregation from other on-site devices using Modbus, SNMP or oBIX, including existing BMS and electrical monitoring systems. A direct connection mode lets EkkoHub serve smaller facilities without the same aggregation arrangement. This gives the portfolio a range extending from a small equipment room to a larger hall with mixed monitoring infrastructure. The hardware supports the software service; it is not described as a collection of interchangeable generic wireless sensor models.

Products and platforms

  1. EkkoSoft Critical

    Data-centre analytics

    Cloud 3D visualisation, cooling recommendations and capacity management.2

  2. EkkoSim

    Data-centre planning

    Companion planning software in the current platform portfolio.2

Technology

The technical FAQ describes a cloud-only EkkoSoft service accessed through a browser. Cooling Advisor generates recommended operating changes, with the user retaining the final decision and an auditable record. The same source distinguishes regional radio variants for the proprietary sensor network and describes encrypted broadcast packets received by multiple hubs. That architecture should not be confused with Zigbee or LoRaWAN merely because the devices are wireless. Room-specific thresholds generate thermal notifications. Third-party data collection provides an additional input route alongside the native sensors, allowing the thermal view to incorporate measurements already available from the facility.

Markets

In its Three UK project report, EkkoSense describes deploying EkkoSoft Critical across four legacy facilities and obtaining a reported 12.5% cooling-energy reduction within ten weeks. The article attributes the work to granular temperature and cooling measurements that identified changes to operating settings. These figures belong to that named project, rather than a guaranteed saving for every data centre. The example also shows that the relevant energy boundary is cooling consumption, not necessarily total IT and facility electricity. The software supported decisions by the operational team while retaining visibility of thermal risks and planned capacity.

Company

The current company page dates EkkoSense to 2013, when Dean Boyle and Stuart Redshaw founded the business. It now identifies Boyle as vice chairman and co-founder, with Daniel Kline joining the leadership in 2026. Redshaw remains associated with the technology leadership and the company’s heat-transfer and thermodynamics background. The headquarters expansion announcement places its UK headquarters at the University of Nottingham Innovation Park. EkkoSense also describes operations across North America, Europe and Australia. Its commercial offering combines software and sensing products with engineering expertise, reflecting its original focus on inefficient cooling strategies and thermal risk.

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References

  1. EkkoSense company and current leadership (opens in a new tab)
  2. EkkoSoft Critical and EkkoSim platforms (opens in a new tab)
  3. EkkoSense software and sensor FAQ (opens in a new tab)
  4. Critical Things sensors and integration hardware (opens in a new tab)
  5. Three UK cooling optimisation project (opens in a new tab)
  6. EkkoSense Nottingham headquarters expansion (opens in a new tab)

This profile does not imply a commercial relationship with EkkoSense and may contain inaccuracies.