Data Center Power

Companies Charge Forward with Data Center Power Consumption Initiatives

By Carrie Schmelkin TMCnet Web Editor

In a quest to keep its reigning title as the city that never sleeps and is ahead of all the latest (and, oftentimes, craziest) trends, Manhattan is welcoming a new data center in one of its major carrier hotels, 60 Hudson Street.

DataGryd, a newcomer to the wholesale data center market, has opened a Manhattan data center –know as the Western Union (News - Alert) Building – and has touted it for being ahead of the curve when it comes to managing data center power consumption and promoting energy efficiencies. The facility boasts several bragging rights including the fact that it’s known as one of the most connected data centers in the world with more than 100 carriers present and that its four floors of space are equipped with some of the most innovative energy technologies on the market, according to a DatacenterDynamics report. 

The data center also boasts its own low-emission cogeneration plant that relies upon natural gas to generate power and superconductor cables with a negligible voltage drop to address rising issues surrounding data center power consumption, according to DataGryd CEO and Cofounder Peter Feldman.

“We’re investing in the most innovative energy technologies on the market today – engineering a state-of-the-art cogeneration plant onsite and planning the very first enterprise IT application of superconductor cables, which is something that sets DataGryd apart from any other urban data center,” Feldman said.

The superconductor cables, which are lightweight, low voltage and designed by AMSC, can hold the same load as dozens of heavy conventional copper conductors which has expanded the design parameters for the data center, AMSC Superconductor Power Systems Managing Director Jack McCall explained in the article.

“By eliminating the limitations of copper, superconductor cables carry massive amounts of power at low voltage, with near perfect efficiency, and provide economic benefits in the layout and design of data centers,” McCall said.

Another way DataGryd is demonstrating its leading edge practices is by using double effect absorption chillers that are created by Broad USA to take wasted heat energy from the gas turbines and repurpose it for data center cooling. This is part of the MicroGryd onsite natural gas combined cooling, heating and power plant (CCHP) designed especially by DataGryd for the facility, according to company officials. With this technology in tote, DataGryd plans to participate in a utility demand-response program, dropping load from the grid when possible to use its own energy.

By utilizing this system, which follows EPA guidelines, DataGryd will be able to see an overall reduction in energy use of about 30 percent, according to DataGryd. For redundancy it has a backup diesel generator 26,000 gallons of fuel storage. In total, the data center can provide up to 27MW of onsite power and DataGryd said it expects to receive EPA CCHP and Energy Star Certifications for the data center in future.

DataGryd is not the only kid on the block that is focused on managing data center power, however. Server Technology (News - Alert) – a provider of data center power distribution solutions – has been working in the space for over 25 years.

This week, Server Technology unveiled its Sentry Power System, which integrates Server Technology’s Sentry family of cabinet PDUs with Sentry Power Manager (SPM) software through Server Technology’s exclusive SNAP technology to create a single system of power. 

Having been in the industry for over 25 years, Server Technology listened to its customers and the message that clearly resonated is that rack-level PDU business is much more demanding than “mere sheet metal and wires,” according to Mark Harris, vice president of marketing at Server Technology. Conversely, modern data center power delivery function is about intelligence, reliability and simplicity. With Sentry Power System, customers can now enjoy the industry’s most complete rack-level power management solution.

“We are recognized as the leader in delivering the world’s most reliable data center rack-based power and have consistently looked for innovative ways to increase the intelligence of our devices, while at the same time simplify the management associated with typical intelligent PDU deployments,” said Harris in a statement. “Our new Sentry Power System with SNAP technology is in direct response to these challenges and provides our customers the industry’s only global structured approach to data center PDU management.”