Leveraging the Climate - Smart Design for Data Centers in the NW

Bruce McLay, LEED AP, Affiliated Engineers
Scott Foster, PE, LEED AP, Affiliated Engineers

The larger project consisted of an adaptive reuse of an existing 16,444mē office building to accommodate life sciences laboratories, offices, and a larger, denser, and higher performing data center. The organization occupying the building specializes in programs in basic biology, public health, and clinical research dedicated to understanding, treating, and preventing cancer and other human diseases. The organization conducts a wide range of data-intensive projects, including cancer genomics, genome-wide association studies, mathematical modeling of epidemics and protein structure, and application of proteomics technology to cell biology and the discovery of early biomarkers of cancer. Progress on these and other fronts is hindered by any deficiencies in data center core resources, which includes the infrastructure needed to house, cool, power, network, and safeguard equipment for computing and data storage.

The overarching goal of developing the new data center was to eliminate IT infrastructure constraints on research by creating a new energy efficient data center that would increase the research capacity, throughput, and safety of the organization's IT infrastructure. The new facility consolidates six of nine previously-existing data center spaces into a single, 24/7/365 data center. The design, construction, and facilities team approached the issue of conditioning a modern data center with a forward-thinking type of mindset, paying particular attention to our needs and resources, then looking for appropriate matchups. In so doing, our team worked closely together to devise and apply a climate-leveraged cooling strategy, and other innovations, to the data center's design. This high-performance, Tier II data center is currently performing at a PUE of less than 1.1, demonstrating that forward-thinking and innovation can bring energy efficiency methods to a new level, using smart design and appropriate methodology, ultimately achieving high efficiency and a new level of reliability and user satisfaction.

Biographies:

Bruce McLay, PE, LEED® AP, is a project manager and mechanical engineer with 23 years of experience focused on the design of technically complex facilities. His background, spanning both new construction and renovation, includes HVAC systems design, energy management, central heating and cooling, utility distribution, and airside designs. With extensive experience contributing to science and technology projects, Bruce has developed forward-thinking, climate-leveraged design solutions for major academic and private research institutions, and has published articles and presented on the topic of maximizing energy in the research environment. A graduate of both Dartmouth College and Colorado State University, Bruce is a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers and the U.S. Green Building Council.

Scott Foster, PE, LEED® AP, is a project manager and mechanical engineer specializing in the engineering, design, and construction administration of mechanical systems supporting data centers located in commercial, higher education, and research and development environments. His expertise is in the integration of mechanical cooling, energy monitoring solutions, and controls systems, as well as energy analyses for existing and new data center facilities. In addition to mission critical project work, he provides engineering leadership on science and technology, healthcare, and higher education capital projects. A 2001 graduate of Kansas State University, Scott is an active member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers and the U.S. Green Building Council.

 

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