Artificial Intelligence in Data Centers
First, how do we define AI? In commercial buildings AI is often thought of as applying analytic engines on gathered information then use those models, algorithms, and rules to make better decisions on how the systems are operated. Most of us aren’t programmers and we use the term AI with the intention of adding sophistication […]
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Learning the Trade
There is a lot of information to learn in the world and every day the data center industry seems to generate more to know. In doing so there are some shortcuts that can help you understand and prioritize the things that are important in your field of work, whether design, commissioning, construction, management, operations or […]
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Cryptocurrency and the Data Center
As blockchain and cryptomining were starting, people were attempting to do the same in their garages and other ad-hoc locations with little thought to scaling or efficiency. But once those power costs started to add up, it was clear that they needed to relocate even if they did have to rent in a new space […]
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Balancing Density & Size
Data centers have become larger, more dense, and taller over the last decade. This growth is fueled by the expansion of data; of course, as every industry realizes how data can be used to improve their processes and every company collects and processes more information than ever before. But the deciding points of whether to […]
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Densification: Power & Cooling
Another option that continues to grow year-over-year is not going up or out at all, but solving the need for more compute by increasing IT density. The computing power density has risen from 5 kW per rack a decade ago to an average closer to 15 kW per rack for today’s new data centers. The […]
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Land: A Shrinking Resource?
The amount of land available to us is finite and we need to carefully manage how the land is deployed for the many things around us. This has led to the development of land use plans for cities across the U.S., and with the explosion of data this now includes adjustments for more land devoted […]
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Waste Heat Reuse
Servers have a wide range of energy use, depending on traditional use or specialized for applications, with a typical server using around 350 watts of power. This average server also produces about 1,200 BTUs of heat every hour and for years many of us have aimed at capturing and reusing this heat. With potentially 50 servers or more in a rack, this […]
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Smart Data Centers
As we collect more and more data about everything around us, smarter cities and facilities are developing to operate in more efficient and reliable ways. The same can be done for data centers, as the massive amount of data can be leveraged to reduce risk while striving to optimize how the many data center systems […]
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Energy Codes & Standards
In the United States there are two main documents that pertain to energy. The main one is the model code International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), developed by the International Code Council. 47 states have adopted it, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The other is Standard 90.1, […]
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Location by Incentives
A lot of people wonder why data centers aren’t built only at the arctic and antarctic circles to take advantage of year-round free cooling. The answer, in a word, is incentives. When looking more indepth, a few words behind that are taxes and power costs. The cost of power is one of the strongest reasons behind […]
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