Posted by Kim Otte on Wed, Jun 02, 2010 @ 09:33 AM
Building a new data center or server room is a very complex project, whether you're building a small 1,000-square-foot server room or a 100,000-square-foot data center. Here are some important facts your IT department needs to think about prior to beginning:
- Determine design requirements early in the process:
- IT hardware load projections and cabinet load densities (blade servers?).
- Electrical and HVAC redundancy options.
- Fire detection and suppression systems options.
- Site selection:
- Square foot requirement.
- Structural requirements (ground floor or upper floor loading issues).
- Proximity to utilities (power, cooling, communication).
- Comprehensive, coordinated design documents ensure a successful construction project:
- Partner with a data center consultant with specific experience in this industry.
- A design consultant with data center construction and service experience will incorporate maintainability into the design.
- Engineering site reviews during construction ensure that the design criteria are incorporated into the build-out.
- Properly document warranty and service agreements:
- Part of the construction project close-out should include warranty documentation.
- Warranties typically carry some level of parts replacement, but do not include preventive maintenance agreements.
- Service and maintenance agreements during and after the warranty period should be planned and can be budgeted at the close of the construction project.
These are just a few critical things that need to be looked at during the construction of your data center - if you don't have staff with the skill set to manage this process, it is extremely important that you hire a construction company who focuses on building data centers or to hire a data center consultant to represent them during the construction.
Submitted by Jim Stark, Design/Build Manager - Electronic Environments Corporation
Posted by Kim Otte on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 @ 10:20 AM
Data centers and server rooms require large amounts of energy to operate and the push now is to reduce the use of energy in data centers - green initiatives. Additional encouragement is coming from utilities throughout the United States in the form of energy efficiency rebates and incentives.
Typically, energy efficiency programs focus on new data center construction, retrofitting the current environment, or optimization of the equipment in the data center. They encourage everything from server consolidation projects to energy efficiency "refreshes," such as installing more efficient servers and cooling technology.
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Recently Electronic Environments installed 13 Ultrasonic Humidifiers at a customer site - the customer worked with their local utility and is receiving $47,000 from the utility in the form of a rebate based on the energy savings they will receive from the ultrasonic humidifiers. |
There are many different types of incentives and rebates available from local utilities and state energy efficiency programs, so make sure you do your homework to see if your energy savings initiatives are eligible for the rebates/incentives.
According to Forrester Research - Government bodies and an increasing number of utilities have mechanisms in place that encourage business engagement in more environmentally sustainable behaviors. These mechanisms typically take on one of three forms: arbitrage, incentives, or penalties. Forrester recommends IT leaders get up to speed on the mechanisms available in their region, since the financial implications - both cost avoidance and savings - can be compelling and further improve the return on investment from green initiatives. Because incentive programs vary widely depending on your location of operation (e.g., state), a great starting point is to call your local utility provider and government representative.
The onus is on data center managers to start implementing energy efficiency measures as soon as possible. Data center power demand has risen steadily over the last 4 to 5 years - if that doesn't change, the data center industry may be headed into regulation. Different states have already enacted legislation in curtailing data center power usage, the Federal Government could be following suit. When this happens, energy rebates will disappear as well.
These resources, coupled with reduced energy bills, provide a compelling financial return on the initial efficiency investment as well as a positive message of corporate responsibility.
Check this out: Installation of Room Scale Intelligent Cooling Technology in Manhatten Bank Data Center Results in Rebate from NYSERDA
Has your company participated in any energy rebates? If so, can you share your experience?
Posted by Michael Kingsley on Mon, Oct 19, 2009 @ 11:42 AM
Engineering, construction and maintenance has become an increasingly complex undertaking in today's data centers. Our blog is to promote an open exchange of ideas, questions and recommendations relating to these issues in data centers, computer rooms and other mission critical facilities.
The blog is hosted and monitored by knowledgeable and experienced engineers and maintenance experts at Electronic Environments Corporation.
We will discuss best practices and trends relating to the physical infrastructure in critical environments like data centers and server rooms; including power, cooling, fire protection, equipment layout, preventive and proactive maintenance, energy management solutions and more.
Electronic Environments offers a broad range of expertise; from engineering, construction and maintenance services (with emphasis on electrical and mechanical systems), to data center cooling and energy management and monitoring solutions. Our mission is to help you keep your critical facility up and running continuously.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
Mike
Michael Kingsley
President
Electronic Environments Corporation
mkingsley@eecnet.com