National Center West

Centennial, CO

TiePoint-bkm provided master planning and design of this three-story greenfield corporate data center project in Colorado. The original build was completed in 2014 and consisted of one of four Data Halls. Capacity expansion projects within the live facility were completed in 2016 and 2021. Each project included phased construction to maintain 24×7 operation of the existing systems throughout construction and commissioning.

This facility houses four Data Halls on a total of 70,000 SF of raised floor, designed to support 1,600 kW each (6,400 kW total IT load). Infrastructure for the Data Center was developed to satisfy overall Concurrent Maintainability (Tier III) with select Fault Tolerant (Tier IV) systems, while still achieving a rating of LEED Gold by the USGBC. In addition to being the engineer-of-record, TiePoint-bkm provided commissioning services, operating procedures, and owner personnel training.

Infrastructure Features

Critical Power Distribution: Six 3MW diesel EGs in an N+1 configuration. The plant is sized to carry the entire building at full load (approximately 12 MW). UPS architecture includes 3N/2 UPS configuration with a total of twelve 900 kW Modules for a peak usable output of 7,200 kW (6,480 kW at 90% redline).

Chiller Plant: The mechanical plant is designed to take advantage of the local climate. Relying primarily on evaporative cooling, the facility will operate in the “free cooling mode” for approximately 80% of the year. The plant consists of six 550 ton fluid coolers in series with air-cooled chillers to provide the supplemental cooling required during the summer months during periods of high wet bulb ambient conditions. The chillers are sized to provide 100% plant capacity in case of a loss of municipal water supply.

Continuous Cooling: A pair of Mechanical UPS Modules serves the CRAH fans, CHW pumps, and BAS to provide continuous cooling in conjunction with 60,000 gallons of CHW storage.

Data Halls: Each of the four Data Halls can support 1,600 kW of IT load on a 36 inch deep raised access floor. Dual power cord technology IT Equipment is arranged in a hot aisle/cold aisle configuration, with a floor density of 100 watts/SF and an average rack density of 5kW. Downflow CHW units and PDUs are located in dedicated equipment galleries, minimizing the need for facility personnel to access the Data Halls.

Project Highlights

  • Tier III Data Center
  • Four Data Halls
  • 3N/2 UPS Systems
  • N+1 EG Plant
  • 2N Mech UPS System
  • Continuous Cooling
  • 6,400 kW Critical Load
  • 5 kW/IT Rack (avg)
  • 100w/SF density
  • Hot Aisle Containment
  • Chiller plant at N+1