Project Overview

A new construction single-story equipment testing facility where technology hardware is to be tested on equipment racks, producing heat and acting in similar functions to data center facilities, entitled the lab server space. This consists of 72 racks producing 2.9 MW worth of heat for the lab server space. The HVAC system includes cooling provided by a 850 ton air-cooled chiller plant providing 65°F chilled water with free-cooling capabilities via the chiller’s integrated pumped refrigerant economizer.  

The project was required to meet the energy efficiency criteria for data centers as defined in the 2021 Washington State Energy Code, specifically Section C403.1.3 Data Centers.

Our Role

A2 Efficiency worked to evaluate the mechanical and electrical systems using a detailed energy model of the facility, building a model to compare performance with provided energy modeling services to evaluate the design compared with ASHRAE 90.4 and WSEC 2021. The team, working with Coffman Engineers, evaluated whether the design achieved the targeted minimum savings.

Project Highlights

• High-Density Compute Racks (36-60 kW each), comparable to AI and hyperscale deployments, requiring data center-class power and cooling infrastructure

• The facility serves as a high-density equipment testing environment, where technology hardware operates under real-world conditions, generating heat loads and power demands equivalent to a modern data center

• Design meets ASHRAE 90.4 requirements for Electrical Loss Component and Mechanical Loss Component