GM’s LEED Gold Data Center Drives IT Efficiency and Achieves 1.2 PUE

A flywheel for battery-free backup power and in-row cooling that reduces the need for electricity contribute to a 70 percent reduction in energy use at General Motors’ Enterprise Data Center, which has earned Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, program. Fewer than 5 percent of data centers in the U.S. achieve LEED certification, according to the building council. GM’s data hub on its Technical Center campus in this Detroit suburb is the company’s fifth LEED-certified facility and second brownfield project.

“We set out to consolidate our global IT infrastructure from 23 data centers to two, which is helping improve application performance while reducing operating costs and energy use,” said Randy Mott, GM senior vice president and CIO. “We’re not only gaining efficiencies from insourcing, but we’ve incorporated world-class energy-saving technology into the facility itself. The data center is designed to achieve a PUE of 1.5 or less. For first 6 months of operation we saw PUEs down to 1.2.”

“Given that data centers require a large amount of energy, GM toured facilities owned by major high-tech and electrical companies to identify best practices for greater efficiency. GM implemented 415-3 phase/240 Volt power to the critical infrastructure within our new data centers. In the past we had primarily used US standard 208/120 Volts. Our Engineers believe this higher voltage will reduce electricity usage by 5 to 7%,” Mott continued.

Additionally, GM cites substantially less electrical infrastructure required reducing up front capital costs as significant motivations for this advanced design. Among the factors contributing to lower costs are: 415V/240 step down autotransformer are smaller and less expensive than 208/120V PDU isolation transformer. 415/240V distribution yields the same power capacity with approximately half the current. Fewer circuit breakers are required and reduces points of failure, circuits to racks and wiring cost. And higher voltage at lower amps for the same power allows use of smaller conductors reducing capital costs and lost due to resistance.

One of the building’s innovations is a clean back-up power system. GM switched from a space-hogging, battery-based Uninterruptible Power Supply to one powered by mechanical fly wheels and a diesel engine. Used in less than 2 percent of data centers globally, it reduces emissions, noise pollution and fuel consumption. Plus, by avoiding the use of the equivalent of 12,000 car batteries, GM eliminated the heating and cooling systems required to keep the batteries at their optimal temperature.

GM implemented a Piller UPS System in the new data center. It is designed to provide 2.7MW of clean critical load power during normal operations and at least 15 seconds of bridge power while integrated 5800-hp diesel engine starts, synchronize and provide backup power.

“We have built 5 million square feet of data centers around the world and this is one of the first ones incorporating this flywheel-powered back-up technology,” said Bernie Woytek, senior associate with Gensler, a global architecture, design, planning and consulting firm. “It essentially eliminates a football field-sized room of batteries.”

Aisles of technology equipment feature in-row cooling to contain heat in a smaller area so less air is moved, reducing electricity consumption. GM leverages Michigan’s cooler climate by pumping water outside to chill it naturally, allowing the servers’ cooling system to power down three-quarters of the year.

As noted above, GM also is distributing power at higher voltages, eliminating energy-draining transformers that generate heat to convert power to the appropriate voltage. As a result, the facility reduced power loss by 17 percent. Beyond these design elements, the facility continually measures and analyzes its power use in real time for optimal efficiency. The data center, and a mirror facility under construction in Milford, Mich., will eventually serve as dual nerve centers integrating all aspects of product development, manufacturing, marketing, sales and other business applications around the world.