The market for data centers is growing. It is being driven by many factors, including big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and intelligent computing that data centers make possible.

According to “July 2016—Data Center Outlook,” a report by the consulting firm Jones Lang Lassalle (JLL), data center capability will rise significantly in Northern Virginia, the Northwest, the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Dallas and Phoenix.

An August New York Times article, “Cloud Computing Brings Sprawling Centers, but Few Jobs, to Small Towns,” by Quentin Hardy, reports data centers are often setting up in small towns where factories or prisons have closed and the local incentives are attractive. The conversion of the facilities brings in electrical workers but doesn’t create many permanent jobs.

According to the Times article and JLL’s report, a proliferation of cloud computing is driving the surge. Cloud-based services require computing power that data centers provide. JLL’s report states that added capability from data centers now and in the future will enable the centers to transmit their data to overseas locations using new undersea cabling.

The report goes on to claim that climate change considerations are key and are leading to more innovations. For electrical contractors, this provides opportunity in many different areas.

For example, ECs may need to work with older infrastructure in the conversion of manufacturing facilities to modern data centers. Or, the data centers may be brand-new facilities located in remote locations or on the outskirts of a thriving metropolis. Either way, the electrical and power systems for other facility utilities need to be upgraded and made more efficient, because data center power consumption is greater than 70 billion kilowatt-hours of power and represents about 2 percent of all power consumption in the United States.

ECs stand to benefit from high demand for energy efficiency and reduced energy consumption in data centers, which require extensive cooling and demand alternative and sustainable power sources.

“Data centers measure power usage effectiveness, which calculates the ratio of total energy used by a data center to how much is used by the actual IT equipment in the data center,” said Mohamed Shi-shani, go-to-market strategy and launch manager for Schneider Electric, Nashville, Tenn. “Total energy includes heating and cooling, and the closer you get to a ratio of one-to-one, the more efficient you are in using your energy. For electrical contractors, things like heating and cooling are fundamental needs and low-hanging fruits to focus on in a way that is simple and connected. The IoT can help make energy usage visible in real time so that electrical contractors can better conserve heating and cooling. The name of the game is 100-percent efficiency.”

A trusted vendor familiar with energy-efficient equipment is valuable. Familiarity with equipment functionality, configuration, procurement and maintenance is required.

“Energy consumption is something all electrical contractors should be striving to achieve,” said Dan Allen, vice president of technical operations, DataBank Ltd., Dallas. “A primary technology on which to focus is HVAC [heating, ventilating and air conditioning] equipment. Historically made with single-speed motors, most HVAC systems are terribly inefficient. Over the years, many have been retrofitted to add variable frequency drives [VFDs] to better regulate speed, resulting in energy savings. Now, digital [electronically commutated] fans allow for speed control without VFDs. Most HVAC equipment these days come equipped with this technology. For every 10 percent reduction in fan speed, a 33 percent savings in energy is realized.”

ECs with a savvy for operational equation and some skill in procurement and purchasing should find data centers to be a good fit. Having good OEM relationships, being able to get attractive pricing, and knowing equipment and part lead times relative to the data center’s demand are all very good qualities that can benefit their prospective data center customers.

“From a technology standpoint, I recommend to start focusing on large-scale energy storage to support solar, tidal, wind and other unpredictable—sustainable—energy sources,” said Lex Coors, chief data center technology and engineering officer for Interxion in Amsterdam. “An electrical contractor needs to prepare [itself] for direct procurement. The days that an electrical contractor bought all components, such as chillers, UPS, etc., are over. Focus for an electrical contractor is now agility, flexibility and an organization that supports, advises and provides a platform on which a customer can safely order the equipment and where the contractor seamlessly provides all the interfaces, testing and commissioning. In general, look for the opportunity and not all the issues around it as this trend will become standard approach.”