Sunbird Congratulates The University of Chicago on Their DEEP Certification

The Sunbird team extends our congratulations to The University of Chicago for receiving a Gold Certification in Informa’s Data Center Efficiency Program (DEEP). The Gold Certification is the highest certification level that the program awards for achievements in data center sustainability and efficiency.

After learning that the University’s data centers’ had shot up from being the campus’ twelfth- to fourth-largest consumer of energy, Raymond Parpart, Director of Data Center Strategy & Operations, sought out a DEEP certification and auditing process to answer the question, “Are we as good as we think we are?” and to help them improve efficiency and support the University’s sustainability goals.

The DEEP assessment resulted in the award of a Gold Certification and an overall score of 99%. The University’s sustainability initiatives include the use of rear door heat exchangers that reduce cooling energy, the treatment of the raised floor as a slab space that eliminates bypass airflow, and a shift in voltage that produces less heat off transformers.

DEEP also discovered opportunities to improve efficiency and sustainability including pursuing renewable energy credits to offset carbon emissions, raising temperature set points to avoid overcooling, developing a chiller-less data center, and utilizing heat waste.

“We’re actually doing as good as we thought – and maybe a little better… We’re still not perfect, but we now know we can do more to develop a truly efficient data center.”

For more information, read the full case study How the University of Chicago Found Ways to Gain Efficiency with a DEEP Certification.

To learn more about how The University of Chicago uses DCIM software to manage their data centers, watch their presentations our educational webinars on dashboards and automation via integration.