HVAC Best Practices Case Study—NetApp Global Dynamic Laboratory and IT Data Center

Dudley B. Lacy, AIA, LEED® AP, O'Brien Atkins Associates, PA
Mark Skiff, NetApp
George Hachem, CRB

This presentation will be a case study of the NetApp Global Dynamic Laboratory (GDL) and IT Data Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. NetApp's goal was to build a highly efficient data center and computational laboratory capable of extremely high densities (up to 42 kilowatt [kW] per rack) with energy-saving features that would give it a best-in-class PUE (Power Utilization Effectiveness). The goal was achieved by designing a facility that broke with the current approaches to data center design. Completed in 2008, the project is a 132,000-square-foot facility with a 36,000-square-foot data center and laboratory supporting 2,166 racks with 42 kW power distribution per rack. The racks are housed in 36 cold rooms with 60 cabinets each. The power and cooling distribution are based on an average 12 kW per rack for a total of 720 kW per cold room. Using proprietary pressure control technology, the system is capable of cooling up to 42 kW in a cabinet, or cool any combination of loads, so long as the total load in the cold room does not exceed 720 kW. The average power density of the white space is 722 watts per square foot.

The innovative, sustainable concepts incorporated into the project are:

  • Using 100 percent outside ambient air to directly cool equipment housed in cold rooms up to 67 percent of the year.
  • Elevating supply temperatures (up to 80°F) to increase chiller capacity (by 14 percent) and chiller efficiency (by 28 percent), and reduce fan horsepower and minimize the cooling energy required to dehumidify the cooler air typically supplied in data centers.
  • Using proprietary pressure control technology to precisely match cooling air supply to IT equipment requirements and reduce fan energy requirements (from 15 percent to 2 percent of energy consumption).
  • Using non-potable reclaimed water for cooling tower makeup.

The results of employing these innovative concepts are:

  • Extremely low operating cost: PUE is estimated to be 1.2, which is 80 percent more efficient than the industry average (PUE = 2.0), resulting in an estimated savings of $7.3 million per year.
  • Compliance with EPA's 2011 performance criteria for state-of-the-art data centers.
  • Reduced CO2 emissions by 93,000 tons per year.
  • Reduced potable water consumption by 99.9 percent.
  • Reduced capital investment (under $30,000 per rack).

Biographies:

Dudley B. Lacy, AIA, LEED AP, is president and chief operating officer of O'Brien/Atkins Associates, PA, an architecture, engineering, and planning firm in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina providing design services for life sciences and IT clients. Mr. Lacy received his Bachelor of Arts from Duke University and his Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, and has more than 30 years experience managing and leading challenging technical projects. Mr. Lacy has provided leadership for O'Brien/Atkins' data centers, computational laboratories, and mission critical projects, including projects for: NetApp, Cisco, Exodus Communications, Credit Suisse, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Redundant Networks, MCI, EPA, North Carolina Super Computer Center, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Icoria (formally Paradigm Genetics), and Avalon Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Lacy is National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) certified and is a registered architect in several states throughout the U.S., and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Mark Skiff, PE, CFM, currently oversees NetApp's East Coast Tech Sites located in Boston, Pittsburgh, and Research Triangle Park. His functional responsibilities include all facets of real estate operations and employee services. Mr. Skiff was the development and project manager of NetApp's newest, largest, and most efficient data center located in RTP, which became operational in 2009. Mr. Skiff's career spans more than 30 years providing real estate services both as an in-house corporate real estate services employee for IBM prior to NetApp and consulting services to organizations such as BP, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, Citigroup, Capital One, and others while with Grubb & Ellis, Consolidated Engineering, and Transwestern Commercial Services.

While at IBM, Mr. Skiff was involved with the design of many new buildings, including data centers. In the early 1980's, Mr. Skiff, as a mechanical engineer, worked directly with the design firm to create IBM's energy efficient laboratory that received an award from the Department of Energy (DOE) for its energy efficient design. DOE gave less than 10 of these awards in the United States. In the early 1990's, Mr. Skiff was the proponent and leader of the initiative to incorporate numerous energy saving design features into IBM's headquarters facility. The energy efficient IBM corporate headquarters design received a $1 million utility award from Pepco (regulated electric utility that provides electricity to homes and businesses in the District of Columbia and its Maryland suburbs), which was the largest the utility had ever awarded to that date.

George Hachem, PE, associate/advanced technology team leader, is an associate of CRB and directs the science and technology operations for the firm's southeast region. Mr. Hachem is a registered electrical engineer and has more than 22 years of experience in the project management, design, construction, and startup of complex engineering systems for laboratory, data center, and microelectronics facilities.