How DC construction material can improve efficiency

Just as important as the decision of where to build a Data Center is choosing what to build it out. Choosing materials composed of renewable resources, recycled content will help in building green data center. Green options among common building materials include:

Concrete containing fly ash: Fly ash is a fine remainder created as a blow byproduct when coal is burned in electric power generation plants. Using the glass-like powder as an alternative for cement in concrete keeps it out of landfills and lowers demand for cement, the production of which generates considerable carbon dioxide. Concrete containing fly ash is also stronger and easier to pump than that containing only customary cement.

Green insulation: Cellulose insulation is advised even greener than conventional fiber glass insulation because it is made primarily from recycled newsprint. Another option is natural fiber insulation made from scrap denim, recovered from clothing factories and otherwise bound for the trash.

Rubberized asphalt: Rubberized asphalt is a mix of regular asphalt and crumb rubber—ground up scrap tires. The material lowers tire noise and is cheaper than conventional asphalt; every lane-mile uses an estimated 2,000 old tires that would otherwise end up in landfills.

Steel: Steel made through the basic oxygen furnace process contains nearly 100 percent recycled content. Because of its great strength, this type of steel is typically used for items such as structural beams or plating.

Roof: Roofs with high-radiative properties, often called cool roofs, make your building greener not only because they save energy, but also because they decrease heat islands. A subset of cool roofs, also known as green roofs or living roofs, deploys live vegetation atop conventional roofing. In addition to the temperature-reducing benefits of other cool roofs, green roofs lowers storm-water runoff, act as additional building insulation, and are credited with nearly doubling a roofing system's lifespan by shielding the surface from sun and rain. Green walls or living walls, which apply the same mechanism to a building's vertical surfaces, can also be employed, although are much less common.