Automated Logic Corp. is providing critical building monitoring and control at a facility that houses nearly 1,800 computers: the new High-Performance Computing Research Center (HPCRC) at Princeton University. The facility is one of only nine high-performance data centers in the world to achieve U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.
ALC is part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp.
“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 sq. ft. 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 level of performance is aligned with Princeton’s ambitious 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 air-cool the computers; the system can switch to outside air during colder months. A natural gas-driven generator, switched on when electricity prices spike, features a co-generation function that captures expelled heat as a source of energy to chill water. The WebCTRL system provides multiple levels of redundant (N+1) control, backed by extensive trend reporting capabilities.
“The WebCTRL technology and ALC team are very experienced in data center management,” Bill Broadhurst, PE, CEM, LEED AP, Princeton campus energy manager, said. “Their people made a real difference. We appreciate the team, their depth of knowledge and how it was applied.”
Over the past 20 years, ALC has completed more than 400 data center projects.