Achieving Energy-Efficient Design: Data Centers
Conrad Brown, P.E., PAE Consulting Engineers, Inc.
Dave Williams, P.E., PAE Consulting Engineers, Inc.
During this presentation, the speakers will focus on identifying approaches for creating energy efficient data centers that still meet the operational and safety requirements. The speakers will analyze and identify approaches for evaluating and minimizing new data center power utilization efficiency by looking into calculation approaches, load diversity application, and the effect of uninterrupted power supplies on cooling loads and energy use.
The speakers will also cover analyzing local climate data to determine suitability for evaporative cooling and economizer operation. This presentation will assist attendees in learning where to obtain local climate data and how to analyze it.
Finally, the speakers will cover several types of analyses to determine savings associated with common cooling approaches. Topics in this presentation will include using bin data to determine annual hours of mechanical cooling system, economizer, and potential evaporative operation, as well as evaluating and comparing cooling systems and the pitfalls of evaporative cooling.
Biographies:
Conrad Brown is a principal and mechanical engineer with PAE Consulting Engineers. He has more than 15 years of experience in mechanical system design and is also an accomplished commissioning agent and energy modeler. Mr. Brown has provided expertise for nearly 20 LEED® rated or registered projects. Currently, he is engaged in the design and construction of the Bullitt Foundation's new building, which is anticipated to be the nation's largest commercial building to achieve Living Building Status. Mr. Brown is also actively involved in the design of a 20-megawatt data center in eastern Washington that will use evaporative cooling as its primary cooling technology. Mr. Brown is an experienced speaker and has presented at events for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment, Engineering Green, the Labs21 Annual Conference, and the AIA 2030 Educational Series in Oregon and Washington.
Dave Williams is a senior associate and mechanical engineer with PAE Consulting Engineers. He has more than 13 years of experience in mechanical system design. Mr. Williams has provided expertise for many energy-efficient system designs in hospitals and data centers, including a 7.8-megawatt, LEED Gold data center in Hillsboro, Oregon. His experience with data centers also includes the design of a 20-megawatt data center in eastern Oregon that will use evaporative cooling as its primary cooling technology, and the commissioning of another center. Mr. Williams has a unique perspective in data centers though his experiences as a contractor.