Mission-Critical Buildings Work Better
Greening Buildings one Building at a Time
Sustainable
Mission-Critical Buildings
Mission-Critical facilities are typically single-story buildings whose inconspicuous exteriors belie the value of the equipment they house.
A 100,000-square-foot data center, for example, might contain $100 million worth of equipment. In a data center, banks of powerful computers provide "hosting" services for thousands of different Web sites. Even brief service interruptions can cost millions of dollars in lost sales. Some facilities monitor and coordinate critical public transportation and safety functions. Due to their special needs and critical nature, mission critical facilities require either new construction or extensive renovation of existing buildings.
Typically Mission-Critical Facilities are Unique
Compared to standard
flex/industrial or office buildings, mission critical facilities have very
different requirements.
Most require:
- Up
to 10 times the normal amount of electric power: 150 to 200 watts per
square foot, as opposed to 20 watts/square foot for a standard office
building.
- Backup
power supply consisting of nine to 15 two-megawatt generators for a
100,000 square foot facility, with each generator taking up as much room
as a tractor-trailer.
- Fuel
storage for the generators. A typical facility must store at least 100,000
gallons of fuel for 48 to 72 hours of operation in the event of a utility
power outage.
- Battery-powered
uninterruptible power supply and DC power plant to provide power while
backup generators energize. These battery banks can weigh up to 16,000
pounds each and typically require additional structural reinforcement.
- Equipment
cooling loads of up to 100 watts per square foot — 20 to 25 times normal
design — with redundancies (backup systems) of up to 100 percent.
- Roof
live loads of up to 125 pounds per square foot, as opposed to 30 pounds
per square foot for normal buildings.
- Upgraded
roofing systems and vapor barriers. Water is the enemy for the type of
equipment housed in mission critical facilities, so buildings must be
designed to keep water out at all costs.
- Advanced
non-water-based fire protection and suppression systems, requiring
chemical storage tanks.
- Screening
of exterior equipment. Exterior screens perform multiple functions
including hiding equipment, providing additional security and reducing
noise emissions. In most jurisdictions, the maximum noise level allowed at
the property line is 65 decibels.
- Multiple
fiber carrier access with redundant ports. These fiber service entrances
are usually encased in concrete duct banks.