Data Centers & Mission Critical
In a data center the MEP isn't supporting the business — it is the business. We deliver construction-ready power and cooling design that matches redundancy topology to your real uptime target, not a default tier label, and holds the thermal envelope as rack densities climb from air to direct-to-chip liquid.
Where Downtime Isn't an Option.
Two questions drive every decision: what happens when any single component or path fails, and what does each kilowatt cost to cool. We match topology — N+1, concurrently maintainable, or fault-tolerant 2N — to the uptime the business actually needs, and design cooling that holds the ASHRAE envelope as racks move from air to rear-door to direct-to-chip liquid. Coordinated with your team and sealed by the licensed engineer of record on your project.
Redundancy & Reliability
We match topology to your real uptime target, not a default tier label.
- N+1, N+2, concurrently maintainable, or fault-tolerant 2N matched to uptime target and budget
- Concurrent maintainability and fault tolerance designed in from day one, not retrofitted
- Dual-path A/B distribution from utility service through switchgear to the rack PDU
- UPS topology with static transfer switches (STS) and distributed-redundant or catcher schemes
- Generator plant with paralleling switchgear and load-sharing controls per NFPA 110
- Single-line diagrams and failure-mode analysis that prove no single point of failure
Cooling & Thermal Management
Cooling that holds the envelope as rack densities climb from air to liquid.
- CRAC/CRAH, in-row, and rear-door heat exchangers sized to actual rack density
- Hot-aisle / cold-aisle containment with supply-air temperature and humidity control
- Airside and waterside economization modeled for the local climate
- ASHRAE TC 9.9 thermal envelopes held across normal, economizer, and failure modes
- Direct-to-chip liquid-cooling readiness — CDU sizing and FWS/TCS loop separation
- Chilled-water plant and pumping designed for concurrent maintainability
Power Systems & Studies
The full power-study set, built into the documents — not bolted on later.
- Load-flow, short-circuit, selective-coordination, and arc-flash studies per IEEE 1584 / NFPA 70E
- PDU/RPP and overhead busway distribution with branch-circuit monitoring for IT metering and PUE
- Grounding, bonding, and a signal-reference network designed in per TIA-942, not assumed
- Utility service, paralleling switchgear, and standby generator plant sizing
- Battery-room ventilation and protection for VRLA, plus lithium-ion ESS per NFPA 855
- Coordination with NEC Article 645 IT-room provisions and Article 708 where COPS applies
Efficiency (PUE) & Energy Code
Efficiency targeted at design and proven against the governing energy code.
- PUE targeted at design rather than discovered in operation
- ASHRAE 90.4 compliance — the data-center path now referenced by IECC 2024
- Mechanical and electrical loss-component (MLC/ELC) calculations documented for the AHJ
- Economizer hours and water-use trade-offs modeled for the specific climate zone
- Cooling sized to staged build-out to avoid stranded capacity and low part-load efficiency
- Metering points designed in for ongoing PUE and WUE tracking
Cooling Water, Fuel & Life Safety
The water, fuel, and detection systems mission-critical uptime depends on.
- Chilled-water, condenser-water, and CDU technology-cooling-system (TCS) coordination
- Make-up water and water treatment for evaporative and economizer plants
- Leak-detection routing under raised floor, at CRAHs, and along liquid-cooling manifolds
- On-site fuel storage, day tanks, and generator fuel-polishing coordination
- Air-sampling smoke detection (VESDA-type) and clean-agent suppression per NFPA 75
- Sequences of operation written so the commissioning agent can test against a documented target
Quick answers about how we deliver design support for this sector.
Whatever your uptime target actually requires. We match topology to the business need and budget — N+1, N+2, concurrently maintainable, or fault-tolerant 2N — rather than defaulting to a tier label. We model the failure modes on the single-line so the redundancy you pay for is the redundancy you get, and document the basis so the licensed engineer of record on your project can review it quickly.
Yes. We hold ASHRAE TC 9.9 thermal envelopes with containment, in-row units, and rear-door heat exchangers where air still works, and design direct-to-chip liquid-cooling readiness — CDU sizing and FWS/TCS loop separation — once rack densities pass what air can carry. We coordinate the technology-cooling loop with the facility chilled-water plant so the hall scales from air to liquid without re-engineering the building.
Yes — load-flow, short-circuit, selective-coordination, and arc-flash studies per IEEE 1584 and NFPA 70E are built into the construction documents, with grounding, bonding, and the signal-reference network designed in per TIA-942. They are part of the set, not a separate after-the-fact deliverable, and they come with field labeling and a coordination basis the licensed engineer of record on your project can stamp.
Yes. We write sequences of operation the commissioning agent can test against — utility-loss transfer, generator paralleling, cooling failover, and economizer changeover — so integrated systems testing (IST) has a documented target instead of tribal knowledge. Mission-critical work lives or dies in commissioning, and the design set should make Level 4 and 5 testing straightforward.
TIA-942-C and Uptime Institute Tier topologies for infrastructure and redundancy, ASHRAE TC 9.9 for thermal and ASHRAE 90.4 (now the IECC 2024 data-center path) for energy, NEC Article 645 for IT-equipment rooms with Article 708 where critical operations power applies, NFPA 75/76 for IT and telecom fire protection, NFPA 110 for standby power, and NFPA 855 for lithium-ion energy storage. We confirm each AHJ's adopted editions up front so plan check is clean the first time.
Explore other sectors we engineer
Have a Data Centers & Mission Critical Project?
Core Engineering. X-pert Execution.
Tell us your scope and timeline — we'll confirm deliverables and milestones, usually within one business day.
Schedule a CallContact Us