Looking at a data center reconfiguration, upgrade, or new facility? PLANNET’s multidisciplined team of experts will work with you to determine project requirements, and develop optimum mission critical facility design concepts along with projected budgets.

Our process begins by working with owners to develop requirements:

• Existing conditions are documented, including developing or validating existing as-built construction drawings;
• Conceptual design options and complete master plans are developed as required;
• Configurations may range from basic to highly redundant;
• Maintainability and ease of operation are incorporated;
• Energy efficient approaches are explored, especially for cooling systems;
• Energy management, remote monitoring and control systems are developed as applicable;
• We ensure that fire suppression and other life-safety systems, including emergency power off (EPO) circuitry is adequate and effective but does not increase risk of unnecessary or erroneous shutdown.

PLANNET is a leader in design of highly reliable and efficient power and cooling for data centers and other critical facilities:

• For power, our expertise runs from the utility service through switchgear, generators, UPS systems and power distribution to the rack, outlet and device power supplies;
• For cooling, our expertise includes objective evaluation of the best technologies for your specific application, including aisle containment, in-row vs. perimeter equipment, overhead vs. underfloor air distribution, outside air vs. chilled water vs. direct-expansion and central plant topologies;
• We have extensive expertise with building automation systems (BAS) and remote monitoring, including data center infrastructure management (DCIM) systems from power components to rack-mounted asset management.

PLANNET can provide full design, work with your selected designers, or helps in the selection of designers:

• If detail design will be performed by others, we can develop a Basis of Design (BoD) including sketches, block diagrams and summary equipment specifications;
• PLANNET can also oversee design by others, keeping them on track with client requirements. We can also conduct peer-reviews of designs by others;
• PLANNET takes the time to effectively match equipment to the application, avoiding unneeded and costly extras:
  • Some designers are not capable of or willing to expend the time necessary to develop vendor-neutral designs for truly competitive pricing and unrestricted expansion, avoiding vendor lock-in;
  • Many vendor sales people don’t fully understand their equipment’s cataloged features and accessories;
• We provide detail design, drawings, specifications sequences of operation and construction documents. Gaining agency approvals are the next step;
• PLANNET often functions as an owner’s representative developing RFPs for design teams, major equipment purchases and construction teams;
• Final design steps include as-built drawing development. We expand this task to include consolidated single line and flow diagrams, striving to simplify complex designs to single sheets, organized and color-coded to assist operations.