Emerson Network Power Opens LEED-Certified Learning Center
Employees, customers, and partners will now do hands-on data center infrastructure training inside a 70,000 square foot green-build facility.
Emerson Network Power, a power and cooling vendor for telecommunication networks, data centers, and other facilities, celebrated the opening of its new Learning Center this October in Westerville, Ohio.
The center is nearly 70,000 square feet, located on five acres. It will be used by Emerson Network Power (ENP) employees, customers, and partners. The facility will provide hands-on data center infrastructure support training for more than 1,000 students per year.
Frank Bibens, president of ENP’s Liebert services business, says the new facility will host the education of field technicians and others looking to brush up on “the latest technical innovations, operations and maintenance techniques” for the industry.
“This is an ideal learning environment, where knowledge sharing, innovation, and technology advancement are embraced,” Bibens says of the new facility.
Training at the center is conducted in a battery-specific lab. An external equipment yard supports the building infrastructure.
A main feature of the facility is an 11,000 square foot equipment lab, which houses ENP equipment. The equipment lab runs with a 75 percent reduction in power consumption, compared to the standard. This is achievable, the company says, because the Learning Center is a teaching facility that is not supporting critical systems.
The building, which has a number of environmentally-friendly construction and design elements, is expected to achieve Gold level Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certification, the second highest designation.
LEED certification, granted by the U.S. Green Building Council, comes in varying levels based on efficiency as well as cutting-edge and documentable innovation in architectural design and efficient technology infrastructure. A number of environmentally-friendly design elements have been implemented, including:
- Bike racks and shower facilities to encourage bike commuting
- Twenty-two parking spaces for hybrid or carpool vehicles or motorcycles only
- White roof materials that reflect the sun to help reduce the amount of energy needed to cool the building
- Low-flow water fixtures that will achieve 37.5 percent annual water savings
- Rainwater captures that will supply 100 percent of water for landscape irrigation
- East/West building layout that maximizes the amount of sunlight that can be utilized
Besides the equipment lab and classrooms, the building includes a so-called Customer Resolution Center, which is a state-of-the-art call center. The Liebert services business is able to support customers who call there, looking for what the company calls “the highest level of service response for their critical systems.”
