The 155,000 square feet new data centre uses a combination of innovative design and the naturally cool climate near Niagara Falls to cut energy consumption by 40% in comparison to conventional data centers. The 120ft –by-60ft server buildings were constructed using an elongated ‘chicken coop’ design featuring IT equipment in long, narrow halls. These halls are angled in the direction of local winds in order to take advantage of the natural airflow and help the facility to use outside air for all its cooling needs.
The design eliminates the need of equipment to circulate water through the data centre to cool the computer gear. It features a cooling system that uses cold water pumped from the ocean. The plan calls for pipes to be placed 1,000 metres below sea level, where the water temperature is about 5ºC. The water is then pumped up around the cooling system before being returned to the ocean.
The facility runs on hydroelectric power from the local utility, New York Power Authority. Less than one percent of the building’s total energy consumption is used to cool the facility. Overall, the facility uses at least 40% less energy than a conventional data center and 95% less water. The energy saved is equal to the amount of power used by more than 9,000 New York state households annually. The amount of water saved in a year could provide drinking water for 200,000 people for a lifetime. Yahoo supported up to 500 jobs during the construction phase and will employ up to 125 people at the data centre.
Besides the date centre, the facility includes an operations centre that monitors Yahoo’s infrastructure for consistent uptime. It also contains a 24-hour IT support centre for Yahoo employees. The facility was built with the help of a $9.9 million grant from the Department of Energy to encourage companies to implement green IT. The Lockport facility will help deliver financial, sports and news services, Flickr, Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger.
