Technical guideCitation
The Green Grid 2009
North American Water-Side Economizer Map (2009)
Use the map only as a visual cross-check.
- Related standard: ASHRAE 90.4.
Topic guide
Site planning
Review publications on site selection, building layouts and the physical arrangement of data centre infrastructure. Explore capacity, environmental conditions, access and expansion in the context of your project.
- Sources
- 147
- Downloadable PDFs
- 36
- Years
- 2001–2026
All sources
73–96 / 147
Research paperPDF
Energy Strategy Reviews (Elsevier BV) 2024
On the means, costs, and system-level impacts of 24/7 carbon-free energy procurement
In a data-centre renewable procurement strategy, weigh that annual volumetric matching does not deliver hourly clean supply (54% to 83%) and that 85-95% hourly CFE targets cut emissions more at a relatively small premium.
- Adding long-duration storage (salt-cavern hydrogen, 2.5 EUR/kWh) cuts the 100% CFE premium to 42% above annual matching; also adding clean firm generation cuts it to 15%.
Technical guidePDF
Open Compute Project Foundation 2015
Open Rack Specification V2, Revision 12 (Facebook part number 06-000060)
Add an ORV2 rack catalogue entry (600 x 1067 x ~2210 mm, 48 mm OpenU, 500/1400 kg IT-load ratings) so floor-loading calculators can use the correct footprint and point loads.
- The rack shall have entry and exit angles of at least 15 degrees.
Technical guideFree to read
Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2008
Outdoor air in data centers
In the tool's economizer studies, report hours below the humidity floor alongside energy savings, per climate.
- NEBS levels 1-3 per SR-3580; level 3 applies to central-office equipment; key documents GR-63-CORE and GR-1089-CORE.
White paperFree to read
Schneider Electric 2011
Physical Security in Mission Critical Facilities
Assign each room a security zone level and verify every path into the white space crosses zones in increasing order, with no direct door from a low zone to a much higher one.
- Openings wider than 12 inches (about 300 mm) get tamper-proof grills.
Research paperPDF
Geothermal Energy (Springer Science and Business Media LLC) 2026
Potential of aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) for data centres in Germany
Before linking data-centre waste heat to nearby building heating, check that site subsurface geology suits ATES and that the site is outside water-protection zones; only 13 of 19 sites did.
- Annual waste heat available for storage was Eth = Qth × F_load × (1 − F_free) × (1 − F_down), with a conservative mean annual load factor of 0.6.
Technical guideFree to read
Hitachi Energy 2025
Powering GenAI data centers at speed: A renewable energy hub approach from off-grid to grid-connected operation
Support phased supply scenarios (off-grid hub then grid) with PV, BESS and generator sizing in the site/energy module.
- 450 MW of PV needs roughly 2,700 acres.
White paperFree to read
EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute) 2024
Powering Intelligence: Analyzing Artificial Intelligence and Data Center Energy Consumption (2024 White Paper)
When a user picks a US state, show regional data-centre load share and growth scenarios as context for utility interconnection lead times.
- Average US PUE has stabilised around 1.6 (2007-2023 trend).
Research paperPDF
Sensors (MDPI AG) 2022
Prediction of Overall Energy Consumption of Data Centers in Different Locations
In siting, do not use PUE as the only criterion; evaluate it together with electricity cost (tariff) and carbon (CUE, grid mix) estimates derived from PUE, since a low-PUE site may have a high tariff or carbon-intensive grid.
- For an assumed 100 million kWh/yr of IT energy, estimated annual electricity cost ranged from $8.1376M (Delinha) to $9.6742M (Yinchuan) among five regions.
Technical guideFree to read
Vertiv 2019
Prefabricated Modular Data Centers: From Disruption to Default Option
Add a delivery-method attribute per block (stick-built, skid, power module, prefab room/facility) with factory-test status and shipping-split count.
- Edge deployments range from ~5 MW city sites to a single hardened rack at a 5G mast.
Technical guideFree to read
Data Center Knowledge 2018
Preparing for the Worst: Compartmentalization in Data Center Capacity Planning
Model the campus as power blocks with block-level MEP independence and fire zones.
- The article is qualitative; the only numeric example is a 1 MW block.
White paperFree to read
Schneider Electric 2014
Raised Floors vs Hard Floors for Data Center Applications
Give each data hall a floor-system parameter: raised air plenum, raised piping only, or hard floor.
- A piping-only raised floor needs a depth of 0.4 m or less.
Technical guidePDF
Open Compute Project Foundation 2026
Report: Field Pilot of Low Carbon Concrete
Write the slab embodied-carbon target into the specification together with an EPD requirement and tie it to national or regional benchmarks as a percentage; a 30% reduction against the control is a low-risk starting point.
- Heat of hydration is lower in Mixes 3 and 4, which matters little for this indoor project but helps mass concrete.
Research paperFree to read
arXiv (UC Riverside / RIT / Caltech preprint) 2026
Small Bottle, Big Pipe: Quantifying and Addressing the Impact of Data Centers on Public Water Systems
Add a peak-day water demand output (annual average times peaking factor, default at least 2.2 for cooling towers, configurable up to about 6-10 for evaporative assist used only on hot days), and compare it with utility supply capacity in site screening.
- With a 10% compound annual WUE reduction, the need drops to 227-604 MGD.
Technical guideFree to read
Nortek Air Solutions 2021
Solutions to Water and Power Availability that Challenge the Future of Data Centers
In a site/sustainability module, estimate annual water (m3), WUE and cooling energy for alternative plant types at a chosen SAT, using local water and power tariffs.
- Case prices: water ~USD 2/m3, power ~USD 0.10/kWh.
White paperFree to read
Schneider Electric 2017
Specification of Modular Data Center Architecture
Build the data model on the facility > room > pod > cabinet > device hierarchy and give each subsystem a deployment level and a linkage rule (for example 1 CRAH per N racks).
- Example architecture aligns pod subsystems at 60 kW increments.
Technical guideFree to read
Nortek Air Solutions 2020
Specifying Air Handling Units to Endure High Wind Events
For sites in hurricane or tornado regions, require a wind-pressure rating (psf at design pressure) for outdoor mechanical equipment and derive the required psf from wind speed, risk category and mounting height.
- Rated psf is design pressure, which is 67% of the overload pressure.
Technical guideFree to read
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 2026
Speed to Power: Solutions for Accelerating Large Load Connections
Add interconnection strategy options (staged or phased energisation, flexible or curtailable service, BYOG) to the campus power plan.
- Authors are Fredrich Kahrl and Natalie Mims Frick; published 2026.
StandardCitation
ASHRAE 2008
Structural and Vibration Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers (ASHRAE Datacom Series Book 5)
Add floor-loading and seismic anchorage checks for racks to the design checklist, especially for AI racks of 1 t or more.
- Listed in ASHRAE handbooks as Book 5 (2008a).
Technical guidePDF
European Commission, DG CNECT (EY, Borderstep Institute, AIT, RP legalitax) 2025
Synergies between Data Centres and Energy Systems - Final Report (European Commission, DG CNECT)
When choosing cooling architecture assess waste heat temperature early: liquid cooling gives higher temperatures, even air cooling can give about 30-35 C as a heat-pump source; position the heat pump for the receiving network temperature (60-80 C or 4th/5th generation).
- In the stakeholder survey, over 60% rated heat reuse technically viable today but only about 20% economically viable.
RegulationFree to read
Türkiye Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş. (TEDAŞ) 2020
TEDAŞ-MLZ/2006-052.B Prefabrik Dağıtım Merkezi ve YG/AG Dağıtım Transformatör Merkezi Binaları Teknik Şartnamesi
When placing a prefabricated substation, apply the IP 68 cable-entry and internal-arc layout rules (rear clearance of 100 mm or less, or closed).
- Switchgear rear to wall is at most 100 mm.
RegulationFree to read
Türkiye Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş. (TEDAŞ) 2006
TEDAŞ-MLZ/95-060.B Technical Specification for Metal-Enclosed Compact MV/LV Transformer Substations
In site layout, offer a compact kiosk substation block (footprint, IP 23D, ventilation) as an option for edge and small sites.
- The first issue was March 1995; the current version was revised in June 2006.
Technical guideFree to read
Data Center Frontier (Black & Veatch contributed article) 2024
The Benefits of Implementing Substations for Data Centers
Offer a substation object with a configuration field (radial, main-tie-main, ring bus, breaker-and-a-half, double-bus double-breaker) and an insulation type field (AIS, GIS), with footprint and cost multipliers.
- Some high-voltage equipment has 1-3 year procurement lead times.
Research paperPDF
Environmental Research Letters (IOP Publishing) 2021
The environmental footprint of data centers in the United States
In data-centre siting, assess the water scarcity footprint (m³ US-eq/MWh) and carbon intensity together with volumetric water intensity; they vary from 0.5 to 305 m³ US-eq/MWh by location.
- Nationally, 1 MWh of data-centre energy use requires 7.1 m³ of water, with spatial variation from 1.8 to 105.9 m³/MWh.
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