INTERSTITIAL SYSTEMS
Interstitial Systems: flooring for data centre efficiency
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
DIGITAL REPORT 2020
02
Interstitial Systems: flooring for data centre efficiency
03
w w w.i nte rst i t i a l - syste m s . com
INTERSTITIAL SYSTEMS
William Collier, owner of Interstitial Systems, on what the company’s electromechanical raised floor distribution system offers data centres
I 04
nterstitial Systems is a manufacturer of multilevel electromechanical raised floor distribution systems for data centres.
William Collier is the company’s founder and owner, bringing his extensive 42 years’ of industry experience to the firm. Collier emphasises both the simplicity of Interstitial Systems’ TIER E/A electromechanical raised floor distribution system offering, and the enormous impact it can have. “It’s remarkable that something as simple as dividing the underfloor horizontally into two levels for wires and air can have such a huge impact on the way a data centre is designed, serviced and maintained.” Traditionally, data centres have been built with conventional raised flooring or on concrete. “That’s basically the two options that are available,” says Collier. “We’re the third option that nobody knows very much about – what we refer to as an electromechanical distribution system.”
Pyramid floor structure design to meet seismic requirement
05
Remove unlimited number of floor panels without affecting structural integrity
w w w.i nte rst i t i a l - syste m s . com
INTERSTITIAL SYSTEMS
Interstitial Systems: Ventilation Effectiveness CLICK TO WATCH
|
0:19
06
Compared to conventional flooring,
unit to escape. So if you open up four
Interstitial Systems’ approach comes
floor panels, all of the cabinets in that
with a host of benefits for data centres.
air handling unit’s zone downstream
“The beautiful part about our system is
from the opening are going to be
you can open up an unlimited number
starved of air. Because of our pres-
of floor panels for as long as you want
surised plenum, we’re able to distribute
and never lose air pressure. This is untrue for a traditional raised floor. The
air over a 200 foot area, meaning we can push air 200 feet across the room, whereas a typical raised floor air
opening created when
conditioning unit can do no more than
four floor panels are
30 to 35 feet at best. That allows us
removed permits all of
to reconfigure the design of a room to
the air produced by a
better optimise the space and improve
30 ton air conditioning
efficiency for the user.”
William Collier
“White space is gold and cabinets are diamonds” — William Collier, Owner, Interstitial Systems 07
“It is our belief that in data centres, white space is gold and cabinets are
space, I have a compelling story to tell.” Another crucial element of the data
diamonds,” says Collier. Accordingly,
centre puzzle is uptime, with redun-
the company emphasises achieving
dancy therefore being critical. “What
maximum efficiency for its clients,
data centres typically look for is N+1
with clear examples of improvement.
redundancy. So for every four or five
“In a typical room, of around 10,000
air handlers, designers add another for
square feet, the owner’s plan was to
redundancy. But this does not provide
put in 418 cabinets. With Tier E/A, the
effective redundancy unless the extra
owner could put 512 cabinets in that
unit is adjacent to the unit that goes
room. That’s 22% or so more cabinets
down. We, on the other hand, build a
in the same space. Every one of those
central mechanical equipment room
cabinets increases revenue. So if I
and, by providing a mixing box, are
can put 94 more cabinets in the same
able to provide true N+1 redundancy w w w.i nte rst i t i a l - syste m s . com
Returning to work with chemical free disinfection.
Staying at work with a UVC air cleansing systems.
Sales And Installation Services For Interstitial Systems
www.TekLightUVC.com
www.TekCleanUSA.com
770 - 38 3 - 19 4 6 PART N ERS
“One of our methodologies when doing business is that we work in a very lean and mean way,” says Collier. “We’ve been doing this for a long time and we’ve always believed in working to the best optimisation.” Consequently, the organisation chooses its partners carefully, such as TekClean. “They’re in the data centre cleaning business down in Atlanta. We teamed up with them a long time ago thanks to their good reputation. I need a rep that has responsibility, loyalty, is smart, savvy and just down to earth. People that make good relationships and want to bring good things to their customers.”
“ We’re the third option that nobody knows very much about – what we refer to as an electromechanical distribution system” — William Collier, Owner, Interstitial Systems
a terraced, raised floor for control and command centres. Thanks to our two-level approach, we can ensure consistent air distribution in that pressurised bottom plenum and allow for the rapid change, relocation and reconfiguration of power and structured cabling underneath the floor.” Achieving high tech solutions doesn’t itself require anything too revolutionary for Interstitial Systems, instead it leverages technology smartly. “We’re obviously big users of AutoCAD because we typically receive a set of
for the entire room with a single extra
plans, where the client says: ‘this is the
air handler. This is because of the Tier
direction we’re going in, how would
E/A’s pressurised plenum’s superior
you optimise the facility using your sys-
air distribution capabilities. We’ve just
tem?’ Then there’s computational fluid
planned a project where the original
dynamics analysis - again not a new
design called for 32 air conditioning
technology - but when used correctly it
units. We redesigned the room and did
is a powerful tool to head off any short-
the same with 26 air conditioning units.
comings that might occur in a facility.”
Taking six air conditioning units out of
Like all businesses worldwide,
the equation for around $250,000 a
Interstitial Systems has not been
piece provides huge savings, and also
unaffected by the ongoing COVID-19
saves a great deal of energy.”
pandemic. ButCollier is an eternal
The company is continuing to
optimist believing that this challenge
develop its capabilities. “Something
will eventually result in a better world.
that we did with the trading pits for the
“I can’t tell you how many people I’ve
Chicago Mercantile Exchange is build
talked to in the last 90 days that have w w w.i nte rst i t i a l - syste m s . com
09
INTERSTITIAL SYSTEMS
Generous Cable Cuts –no need for gaskets
10
“ It’s remarkable that something as simple as dividing the underfloor horizontally into two levels for wires and air can have such a huge impact” — William Collier, Owner, Interstitial Systems
Power Wiring installed in Wireway
said: ‘Oh my God, I pick up an extra three hours a day not having to commute to the office.’ That’s found time. That’s family time. That’s quality of lifetime. That’s exercise time. That’s all kinds of time that allows people to do things for themselves. And at the same time, it’s helping the planet because we’re not putting out all the emissions from commuting back and forth.” As for Interstitial Systems’ future, Collier is confident it is treading the right path. “We’re going to keep plowing ahead, one job at a time. That’s what we’ve always done and that’s what we’ll always do. We want to bring the best value to our customers. Everything’s about relationships. You build networks, you find like-minded people. And when you find the people that appreciate what you do, you love doing work with them, you become a team. You become partners. You even build friendships. That’s how we like to do business.”
w w w.i nte rst i t i a l - syste m s . com
11
P0WERED BY
w w w.interstitial-systems.com