Delivering a Mission‑Critical Data Center with Groundbreaking Sustainability Features
BendBroadband Vault
Hoffman built this state-of-the-art, sustainable data center to serve BendBroadband’s West Coast customers and internal operations. The 30,000 SF facility was designed and built to 24/7, “critical facility” standards (Uptime Institute TIER-3). It features a 152 kw photovoltaic array, “no-battery” flywheel UPS, and an innovative design to isolate hot and cold air within the data center environment, including a Kyoto “heat wheel” closed-loop heat exchanger. The co-location facility hosts several tenants in addition to BendBroadband, and features a sophisticated 24/7 network operations center, fully automated building controls, and IP-based access controls and building management.
Challenge
How did Hoffman combine expertise in data center construction and sustainable building to produce an energy-efficient data center?
Solution
Sustainable features on the data center include a 152 kw photovoltaic array, “no-battery” flywheel UPS, and an innovative design to isolate hot and cold air within the data center environment. Perhaps its most forward-looking feature is its Kyoto “heat wheel,” a closed-loop heat exchanger that makes use of outside air for energy-efficient cooling while still isolating the data floor from outside contaminants. The heat wheel is only the second deployed in the US, and the largest to date.
