A gleaming new state-of-the-art data center, the Schneider Electric Technology Center in St. Louis, officially will turn on the current this evening (Oct. 23), with the blessings of the Green Grid Consortium and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program.
Green Grid representative John Tuccillo, Andrew Fanara of the Energy Star program and Andy Karsnar, under secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, will speak at the event.
The entire 100,000 square foot facility was conceived, designed, built and equipped with a singular focus on increased power and cooling efficiency for IT, an event spokesperson told The Station.
“We are not aware of another facility like this anywhere else in the world, certainly not within the United States,” American Power Conversion spokesperson Juli Dexter said. For example, there are two test labs capable of controlled tests at any power input voltage. Plus, it sports temperature controls to +/- 1 percent and humidity controls of +/- 1/2 percent.
APC handled the installation of all the power supplies—among other equipment—at the new facility. Schneider Electric, APC’s parent company, was founded in France in the 1890s and has grown into a world leader in power and control hardware through further acquisitions: Power Measurement in 2005; MGE UPS Systems, Clipsal, TAC, Nulec, Andover Controls and Citect in 2006; and APC in 2007. The latest acquisition was Pelco on Oct. 17.
Here are some additional quick facts aimed specifically at those of you who are gluttons for—and understand—these kind of stats:
- 7.5 megawatts of electrical power with single 35kv feed
- One 2mw generator with space for a second
- 1,000 tons of chilled water available
- Two 500-ton chillers supporting the primary structure and space for a third
- One 212-ton chiller supporting the air test chambers
- Two 600-ton cooling towers with space for a third
- 9,000 sq/ft of air and cooling research and development space with dual air chambers
- Two technical training rooms with associated labs
- 7,680 sq/ft of 24-inch raised floor customer test data center
- 1,536 sq/ft of 2-ft. raised floor in air chamber
- 1,840 sq/ft of 5-inch raised floor demo room
Good luck, Schneider Electric Technology Center. You’re out there on the edge now, but this is where data centers will be going in the next few years.