Toronto Hydro Data Centre
Client
Toronto Hydro
Location
Toronto, Ontario
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
In 2014, Toronto Hydro in an effort to reduce its facilities’ footprint and energy consumption improved the functionality of its buildings. This was done by closing its location at 5800 Yonge Street and better utilizing existing spaces at 500 Commissioners Street. By December 2014, employees working in IT, customer care and the control room at 5800 Yonge Street location were transferred to the building at 500 Commissioners Street. This facility serves as Toronto Hydro’s key data centre and is operated 24/7 throughout the year.
B&M SCOPE OF WORK
Black & McDonald (B&M) was tasked with converting existing warehouse space for the implementation of the data centre, including renovation of underused and redundant work spaces, conversion of locker rooms and labs to office facilities, downsizing and relocation of the test lab, and construction of a state-of-the-art control room.
Electrical scope of work consisted of the supply and installation of:
- New 13.8 kV service
- Three 3,000 A switchboards
- Two 3,000 A automatic transfer switches
- One 3,000 A bus duct
- Two 550 kW uninterruptible power supplies
- Two 550 kVA transformers
- Sixteen 250 power distribution units
- Two 1.5 MW generators for back up
- One 3,000 A generator cabinet (for load bank testing)
- A new pre-action system
The mechanical scope of work included:
- Installation of 10 Liebert (10-20 ton) CRAC units complete with humidification piping, and drainage & primer station piping
- Ten new rooftop condensing packages complete with pump
- Three new rooftop exhaust fans from all LAN rooms
- Eight new split A/C units
- Installation of various new duct systems
- All refrigeration connecting indoor to outdoor sections that ran up the building to the roof to a new staging area
- New Vesda smoke detection system
- New underfloor leak detection system throughout a raised floor of the data centre
- Installation of chilled water piping for future rooftop chillers
BENEFITS TO CLIENT AND PROBLEMS SOLVED
B&M provided a turnkey solution incorporating all project management, labour, materials, equipment, installation, testing and commissioning to upgrade the electrical distribution and mechanical cooling system of Toronto Hydro’s data centre.
The B&M team installed more energy-efficient heating and cooling systems in the new control room, office space, test lab, fleet garage and data centre and also conducted lighting and retrofits. The primary challenge of this project was an extremely aggressive schedule. Furthermore, construction drawings were not completed at the commencement of construction.
B&M, in collaboration with the general contractor, developed a schedule that included three shifts a day, seven days a week. The project was done on a 24/7 schedule.
B&M’s experienced project management team utilized pre-construction planning to reconcile the compressed construction schedule with the need to maintain security-related site restrictions. The main strategy for attaining completion on time was through careful development of look-ahead schedules, with particular attention paid to material ordering and delivery times. B&M technicians executed the project on a time and material basis until the construction drawings were completed and accurate quotes for the project could be developed. Despite the significant challenges, the project team met the deadlines.
INNOVATIVE PROCESS
The data centre was overhauled to help reduce energy consumption and improve efficiencies before it was connected. Energy savings were achieved by upgrading the cooling system and some of the IT equipment. The project team enabled Toronto Hydro to reduce monthly energy demand by approximately 46.2 kW and reduce energy consumption by approximately 32,750 kWh. This resulted in annual electricity savings of 404,909 kWh.
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