Courtesy of Freestate Electrical Construction

The consolidated server room at the Defense Health Headquarters (DHHQ) houses essential medical information for the United States military. To ensure the constant availability of power for its massive storage system, the 3,400 SF mission critical space is designed to be completely independent of utility power in the event of a surge or line failure. The complex project was built within a compressed 22-week schedule to meet the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) mandate.

The design called for 12KW per rack capability for power and cooling, approximately 150 W/sf of floor area. The output of a parallel redundant N+1 static UPS system supports this critical load through an A-B distribution system to the rack level. This scheme ensures continuity of service if one UPS were to fail. If utility power is interrupted, the systems are further supported by an N+1 diesel engine generator plant with 48 hours of fuel storage.

The design team also developed a solution to fit the consolidated server room in an incredibly confined space and in turn, efficiently route the conduit systems through the rest of the building. The system includes 65,000 feet of conduit and 360,000 feet of feeder cable. When additional space becomes a necessity, there is a 3,000 sf area available just north of the current consolidated server room. Though currently occupied, it was designed to be quickly vacated and easily expanded into without modifications.