Data Centers: Keeping Energy, Security in Check

Summary

Power consumption for data centers doubled from 2000 and 2006, and it is anticipated to double again by 2011, making these mission-critical facilities the nation’s largest commercial user of electric power. Major technology companies, notably Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems, and International Business Machines, are investing heavily in new data centers. HP, which acquired technology services provider EDS in 2008, announced in June that it would be closing many of its older data centers and would be building new, more highly optimized centers around the world.

No wonder Building Teams see these mission-critical facilities as a golden opportunity, and why they are working hard to keep energy costs at data centers in check.

What you will learn

After reading this article, you should be able to:

List the main mechanical, electrical, and plumbing challenges—energy and water—facing data centers
Discuss methods for reducing data center energy use
Describe the primary fire protection and security issues facing operators of data centers
Explain the preferred structural approaches and envelope criteria for data centers

Read the full article and take the course.

We offer the following recommendations in the hope that they will help step up the pace of high-performance building reconstruction in the U.S. and Canada. We consulted many experts for advice, but these recommendations are solely the responsibility of the editors of Building Design+Construction. We welcome your comments. Please send them to Robert Cassidy, Editorial Director: rcassidy@sgcmail.com.