Electrical Engineering Design Services for Mott Community College

This project designed by PBA in conjunction with design of a Disaster Recovery site for the college at another of Mott property. PBA worked with the college to develop a phasing plan for these two projects and to determine appropriate levels of redundancy and capacity for different operations required at the two sites.

The renovation of the approximate 1100 square foot data center included replacement of the existing 12” raised floor and pedestals with a new raised floor system at the same elevation, and removal and abatement of the existing tile floor below. The existing suspended lay-in ceiling was also replaced with a new ceiling at the same elevation. New lighting was also designed for the space.

The space was arranged to allow for 14 cabinets and associated new equipment. Each rack is designed to support 7kW of network electronics and equipment. To support these design loads, each cabinet was equipped with branch UPS power circuits and cabinets were arranged in a new overall aisle containment enclosure creating a “hot aisle and cold aisle” separation for the entire room.

The existing mechanical and electrical systems supporting the space were supplemented, modified or replaced as required to support the new loads and provide some level of redundancy for cooling, generators and UPS power systems. The HVAC system includes two new air cooled chillers, with one of the chillers acting as a redundant backup unit. The HVAC system was designed to maintain defined humidity levels. The existing gaseous vapor fire suppression system remained.

The existing generator plant and associated distribution were modified and supplemented to meet the higher demand loads and to provide partial redundancy in the event one of the generators fails. The existing rack-mounted UPS units were removed and replaced with a central UPS units with multiple outputs arranged to provide “A” and “B” bus UPS branch circuit redundancy. The UPS was equipped with environmentally friendly flywheels to serve as their DC power plants.

New outdoor gear serving the data center is installed on grade outside the data center adjacent to existing equipment.