• • • DATA CENTRES & UPS • • •


Unlocking data centres: Sustainable refurbishments


Steve Davidson, technical director at Parmabrook, a specialist in engineering and intelligent design for data centres, industrial organisations, buildings, education and hospitality firms, says that demand for data centre facilities has skyrocketed


T


he uptime of these data centres is critical, as a power outage can lead to significant losses for businesses and put sensitive data at risk.


However, as technology advances and capacity requirements increase, many data centres built in the 80s and early 90s are no longer fit for purpose, with outdated and inefficient buildings, unsuitable floor plans, and inadequate structural integrity – especially for the evolution of high density, power intensive HPC and AI we are witnessing. Despite these challenges, the potential of existing legacy data centres across the UK remains untapped. Developers are increasingly opting for new-build data centres, but there is significant potential in unlocking the potential of existing, disused facilities through meticulously designed retrofits.


This is especially relevant in traditional data centre hubs – like Slough and West London – where land for new builds is restrictive, and existing data centres have often been over- engineered and built in a way that fails to optimise the space or available power, the potential of which can be better realised with a retrofit.


One company that recognises this opportunity is Kao Data, which develops and operates high performance data centres for advanced computing, providing enterprise, cloud, HPC, and AI customers with a world-class home for their compute. Today, the company is working with


Parmarbrook to deliver on unlocking data centres, sustainably, across the UK.


Data centres and


sustainable construction Data centres are known for their high energy consumption, and the construction industry has a responsibility to minimise carbon emissions wherever possible. Demolishing existing data centres that can be sustainably refurbished comes with environmental costs – making a significant contribution to carbon emissions. Reusing and repurposing these structures allows for the preservation of embodied carbon, offsetting the environmental impact of the data centres operations. Paul Finch, chief technology officer at Kao Data, says: “Today the data centre and construction industries have a vital role to play in the climate change challenge, and going forward, we must work collaboratively to deliver the highest possible sustainability standards for our sectors.


“Part of the approach must be to recognise the intrinsic value that legacy infrastructures can offer both to the businesses and consumers, and to ensure that efficient and sustainable operations are built-in from the ground up.”


The challenges


• Lack of available space to construct new data centres with sufficient electrical supply capacity within popular data centre hubs like West London, Manchester and Slough;


• Identifying existing stock of under-utilised legacy data centres with available renewable power supply, yet unknown load capacity and structural merit;


• Understanding the load capacity of the existing structure to maximise the layout of the data halls within them;


• Architectural impact of the fit-out to ensure hot or cold aisles are economised to maximise the use of natural free-air cooling;


• Capacity of the existing foundations for increased load allowance;


• Existing roof space to accommodate revised design to deliver desired loads and cooling;


20 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • SEPTEMBER 2023


• Existing plant replacement strategy: viability to accommodate logistical requirements for plant upgrade;


• Structural constraints; floor to ceiling heights, column spacing, accommodation of enhanced openings, riser relocation;


• Change in levels across floor plate; • Retention of live environments and floor plates;


• Capacity of the existing structure for increased load allowance, however, it is generally the foundations that govern and drive the cost;


• Party wall restrictions; • Fire and building regulation changes; and


• Impact on the surrounding environment and local community.


While refurbishing disused data centres is a viable solution, there are several challenges to overcome. These challenges include a lack of disused industrial and available space to construct new data centres, the unknown load capacity and structural integrity of existing vacant legacy facilities, and the need to maintain tenancy in live data centres during refurbishments in sub-let


electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk


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