Cross-Connect Blog

CPI Data Center Cooling Solutions Featured in Green Building & Design Magazine

September 17, 2015

Blog Article on GBD Magazine 
Architects and engineers whose projects include data centers, should extend the same green design principles used throughout the building into the data center. This is essential, considering the potential energy savings that can result from efficient design.

Green Building & Design (GB&D) Magazine recently ran an article describing how Chatsworth Products (CPI) helped Seattle-based wireless provider TeleCommunication Systems (TCS), overcome the problem of limited power availability and become one of the most efficient data centers in the Pacific Northwest. TCS earned two ASHRAE awards and averages a PUE of 1.15.

The article explains CPI’s “hot aisle/cold aisle” method. This entails aligning two long rows of cabinets, so the intake sides of the two rows are facing each other, then delivering conditioned “cold” air into the intake side “cold” aisle that has been created and venting the hot air out of the opposite exhaust of the “hot aisle.” From a thermodynamics perspective, it was pretty rudimentary compared to the high-tech HVAC acrobatics that LEED designers are used to.

Read the full article or the case study.

Green Building Defined

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) describes green building (also known as sustainable or high performance building) as the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle, from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. The common objective is that green buildings should be designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:

  • Efficiently using energy, water and other resources
  • Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity
  • Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation

History of the Green Building Movement

As far back as the early nineteenth century, building designers were considering and implementing environmental improvements but according to the EPA, the modern green building movement gained momentum during the 1970s oil crisis. This crisis spurred research to improve energy efficiency and resulted in key milestones such as the Energy Star Program launched in 1992, the founding of United States Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1993 and the launch of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in 1998, to name a few.

Today, green building practices are widely implemented on many levels and often result in both environmental and cost savings benefits. According to the EPA’s “Why Build Green” web page, economic benefits can include:

  • Lower operating costs
  • Improved occupant productivity
  • Optimized life-cycle economic performance

It is easy to see how these benefits translate into the data center environment and why so many organizations are reaping the rewards of progressive design and implementation. CPI’s Technical Staff assists customers with implementing solutions to meet very specific requirements. Thorough planning and CFD modeling helps ensure high performance results. Give CPI the opportunity to make your data center a success by contacting a local CPI Sales Manager.

Kim Ream, Marketing Project Manager

Search CPI in the News