Automated Logic’s Building Automation System Provides Critical Control at Research Center
“We’re proud to be the building automation provider for this important project,” said Lauren Kolb, president, ALC. “The installation of our WebCTRL® system at HPCRC underscores our expertise and commitment to helping customers achieve their sustainability goals in the mission-critical and education sectors.”
Located on Princeton’s Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro, N.J., the 47,000-square-foot facility is home to Princeton’s Terascale Infrastructure for Groundbreaking Research in Science and Engineering, also known as TIGRESS. The facility contains nearly 1,800 computers that support major research initiatives, administrative systems, and departmental functions.
HPCRC received LEED Gold certification in 2012 and is currently consuming one-third less energy than the former data center on campus. That performance is aligned with Princeton’s sustainability plan, which promotes sustainable building technologies to reduce energy demand and conserve water.
The centralized computing facility features sophisticated HVAC technology, monitored and controlled by ALC’s WebCTRL system. Three chillers maintain water temperature at approximately 45°F to cool the computers, which generate a great deal of heat; the system can switch to outside air during colder months. A natural gas-driven generator, switched on when electricity prices spike, features a cogeneration function that captures expelled heat as a source of energy to chill water. The WebCTRL system provides multiple levels of redundant control, backed by extensive trend reporting capabilities.
“The WebCTRL technology and ALC team are very experienced in data center management,” noted Bill Broadhurst, PE, CEM, LEED AP, campus energy manager, Princeton. “Their people made a real difference. We appreciate the team, their depth of knowledge, and how it was applied.”
Over the past two decades, ALC has completed more than 400 data center projects.
For more information, visit www.automatedlogic.com.
Publication date: 3/18/2013
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