When looking at the vast scale of a project like Hinkley Point, at its enormous costs and lengthy timescales, it’s clear to see what the problems are.
Carbon is embedded in the structure of buildings as everyone knows, but in data centres significantly more so in the M&E equipment within them.As we optimise the geometry and layout of the structure, plant and systems we can have a positive effect on the amount of embodied carbon in the building, structure and systems.. Our more sustainable approach to close coupling and integration increases efficiency in cooling and distribution losses and also lessens the carbon intensive materials used in these systems.. Our industrialisation and digital design approach allows us to quantify this carbon content during design, and minimise the content through optimisation and materials selection.
It means our clients can make arrangements for carbon offsetting prior to the data centre facility being handed over.. We continue to investigate and take opportunities to make use of the heat that is generated by the cooling of data centres.with provision for heat export suitable for connection to district heating or industrial processes where viable.. We are also working with data centre clients on alternative sources of clean energy; an area where we see significant potential for data centres to become autonomous, and to promote the use of cleaner standby power systems.. A positive future for data centre design.As society’s requirement for data processing grows, so the market for data centres will continue to grow – and at a frantic pace.
The potential impact of our integrated approach, therefore, driving efficiency and improving performance, will only be more important for our clients and their customers..It is not sustainable, or desirable, to continue building more and more traditional data centres.
By ensuring that every element of these crucial facilities is viewed as an integral part of the whole, and by optimising all of them together, we will continue to work with our clients to ensure that the future of this market is a positive one.What is operational carbon?.
Operational carbon refers to the emissions of a building during its operation.Transforming Infrastructure Performance: Roadmap to 2030, sets out a vision for innovation and reform in infrastructure delivery, covering target and focus areas, as well as providing robust requirements for government clients to deliver against.
The document makes it clear that the UK government is seeking a step change in productivity across the way we plan, design, manufacture, construct and operate.In short, everything needs to change, and the Roadmap to 2030 offers the tools to do that.
The Roadmap goes beyond MMC and DfMA, looking at a holistic approach to delivering differently, not just in terms of platform construction and the kit-of-parts, but also the processes that come with it..The broader impact of TIP 2021.
(Editor: Space-Saving Diffusers)