Energy-efficiency hub for green data centres opened in Perth

APC by Schneider Electric, one  of the global leaders in integrated critical power and cooling services, has opened its new data centre demonstration and training facility in Perth.

Dubbed the ‘Energy Efficiency Hub’, it is APC’s first dedicated data centre demonstration and training facility in the Western Australian region.

Located in Perth’s CBD, the facility houses a fully functional demonstration space incorporating APC’s modular data centre with hot aisle containment system (HACS); a dedicated wiring closet showcase; redundant critical power systems (UPS) and associated electrical switchgear; along with InfraStruxure, APC’s architecture for network-critical physical infrastructure (NCPI).

InfraStruxure monitors and controls power, cooling, security and energy efficiency, and is designed to meet changing business requirements and future expansion.

HACS is one of the latest cooling technologies to significantly reduce energy costs. Heat is contained and neutralised at its source thereby minimising the amount of cool air that needs to be pushed into the data centre.

The new centre allows APC to demonstrate the building blocks for an energy-efficient data centre - long sought after by West Australian technology professionals.

The centre will also be used by APC’s channel and vendor alliance partners to conduct advanced technical product training and demonstrations for clients and staff.

According to Gordon Makryllos, Vice President, APC Pacific, a number of significant trends are driving increased demand for software-controlled power and cooling systems by Australian businesses.

“Many organisations in the region are facing significant data centre challenges. A number of companies are using outdated legacy systems and are consolidating their data centre hardware but still require more floor space,” said Makryllos.

“Organisations are also finding they cannot deploy new server and storage technologies because their data centres cannot meet the power and cooling requirements. Additional challenges including increasing energy costs and the possibility of a carbon tax is encouraging Australian businesses to adopt more energy- and cost-efficient innovations.

“Modular and scalable data centre technology is a key growth area for our partners and customers across the region. The demonstration facility will enable them to stay abreast of the industry’s latest energy-efficient data centre innovations,” said Makryllos.