Accelevation Solutions: Customized up-lift of a 60-year-old data center
Feb 11, 2025The Challenge: A general contractor was up-lifting a 60 year-old enterprise data center in the Pacific Northwest for a colocator. The existing building had three floors of sheet metal HAC, raised floors, and horizontal air flow returns. The team faced significant challenges, including condensed data hall floor space and low 11-foot floor-to-ceiling heights, compounded by unexpected surprises as the project progressed. Under tight time constraints, the general contractor was running out of viable options
The Solution: Accelevation leveraged its vertical integration to meet the unique demands of the retrofit. From our Ohio manufacturing plants, we produced custom caging, structure, and containment systems while our solutions engineers collaborated with our full-time installation technicians to adapt to the site’s non-standard conditions. Agility and creativity was required, and the Accelevation team rose to the challenge.
Accelevation’s Approach Included:
- Demolition & Removal: Existing sheet metal HVAC systems were safely removed.
- Customized Solutions: Hot aisle structure and containment were manufactured to spec and installed to align with the existing horizontal air return systems.
- Overhead Structured Cabling: Designed and installed a four-layer system, meeting clearance requirements and maintaining precision tolerances of up to ½ inch.
- Secure Caging: Manufactured and installed security caging from beneath the raised floor to the concrete ceiling deck, isolating electrical galleries from end customer racks.
- Specialized Tray Routing: Heavily modified cable tray routes to accommodate the unique space constraints.
- Fiber Optic Infrastructure: Procured and installed the main fiber optic infrastructure from the meet-me room to the data halls.
- EPMS System: Ran and tested electric power monitoring cables.
- Telecommunication Grounds: Installed and verified all grounding systems.
- Ad-Hoc Solutions: Built a secure area for tenant rack staging on short notice.
The Result:
Within four weeks of project kick-off, modular TechFrame structures and containment panels were adapted and delivered to the site, ready for installation by Accelevation’s experienced technicians. Our solutions engineers worked closely with on-site teams to modify cable tray routing, ensuring seamless integration.
As the project neared completion, a last-minute requirement emerged: tenants needed an isolated, secure area for rack staging and deployment. Accelevation responded immediately, utilizing custom caging systems to build the secure area on the building’s mezzanine level.
Thanks to our in-house design expertise, manufacturing capabilities, and tenured installation technicians, Accelevation delivered a complete fit-out on time and within budget, exceeding the client’s expectations.