Verifying all mechanical, electrical, and control systems operate cohesively to meet design intent and operational requirements before a data center goes live is critical. S2F mitigates project risk by identifying design or installation deficiencies early, preventing costly downtime and ensuring the facility achieves “five nines” (99.999%) reliability.
Where Execution Typically Breaks Down
Approximately 79% of data center outages are linked to components or sequences that were not fully tested during commissioning. These issues tend to be:
- Integrated systems testing where individual components (generators, chillers, UPS) are tested together to simulate real world, full load and fault conditions.
- Software and communication failures during control system and building management
- Limited execution windows in live environments
- High operational impact if sequencing is incorrect
An Operations Perspective on Commissioning
With S2F’s decades of experience in conventional energy commissioning, generating systems for testing and verifications is second nature.
Typically we verify:
- Electrical: Utility feeds, switchgear, UPS systems, backup generators, Automatic Transfer Switches (ATS), and Power Distribution Units (PDUs).
- Mechanical (Cooling): Chillers, CRAH/CRAC units, cooling towers, pumps, and ventilation.
- Life Safety & Security: Fire detection and suppression (e.g. clean agent systems), access control, and CCTV.
- Monitoring: The Building Management System (BMS) and Electrical Power Monitoring System (EPMS).
Ensuring all systems function as designed, organizing the commissioning phase data, supporting the start-up and handing the tested facility over to the project and operations is all part of the package.
