Private companies like Octopus in the UK are looking at expanding their remit and starting to invest in distribution of power..
A chip can, therefore, be a whole factory, a building, a production line, or a single machine within a production line.These different levels will often result in a hierarchy of Chips, so that big Chips can later be broken into small Chips.
They're used in different ways at different stages of a project, or in different ways by different users within a project..The data structures that we build around Chips allow data to be aggregated between different levels.. We can associate any type of data with a Chip.Conventional engineering data is perhaps the most obvious, but we also include data like staffing levels, containment requirements, power consumption, or even the level of design uncertainty.
This allows for visualisation of different issues within a project..It's important that when we define chips, we don't leave gaps.
We aim to capture everything: the building, the equipment, operations, software, hazards, quality requirements, whatever is important in that system.
At the point of inquiry, we are trying to get that information loaded into that Chip..A typical hyperscale data centre design, with the racks, then space for cabling and power, then a ceiling void and structure, will have a storey-to-storey height of often of seven or eight metres, and sometimes more.
In other words, you can have two floors for data halls in a 20 metre planning envelope.. A fundamental reassessment of the integration of cooling systems and structure, and optimised M&E services zones through close coupling of electrical and mechanical systems will yield geometric reductions that can reduce floor to floor height.Constructing less costs less, but this approach has the potential to yield much more.
For example, a reduction in floor to floor height to 6.5m would enable a three-storey data centre on that same site – an instant gain of 50% in site yield and significant reduction in cost per kW.. A similar approach to close integration of design and the arrangement of primary plant and ancillary systems will optimise the data centre facility plan footprint.Again, this maximises yield per m2, with the added benefit of a reduction in costly M&E distribution paths..
(Editor: Cordless Timers)