The U.S. Green Building Council pre-certified the Advanced Data Centers' (ADC) 500,000 square foot facility as LEED Platinum because of its "extraordinary energy efficiency."

The four buildings will host corporate servers and are expected to require 35 percent less energy than the average data center. According to ADC chief architect Bob Seese, the technology used to achievelow (1.1) power utilization effectiveness rating includes an air-side economizer that sucks in the air from Sacramento's mostly cool climate so that air conditioning is kept to a minimum.

Seese says the use of outside cooling requires the chillers to only be used for 25 percent of the year. Other enhancements include an energy efficient fan system that blows air only where it's needed and a 98 percent energy efficient rotary flywheel UPS.

ADC announced today that the company also received the highest level of "Savings By Design" award offered by the State of California in conjunction with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). The data center is expected to reduce energy costs by $2 million per year, so in addition to the $150,000 maximum award for building green, ADC will pay a lower rate on its monthly utility bill.

SMUD key account manager Mike Moreno says the utility hired engineering firm Rumsey Engineers to model the energy savings from ADC's design. After the building is up and running the efficiency will be confirmed.

Moreno says that under the Savings By Design program, part of the financial benefit of ADC's reducing peak demand will be shared with SMUD's ratepayers, and the rest is given back to ADC in the former of the lower rate. Because of its various energy savings and demand response programs, as well because it is a non-profit, SMUD charges customers approximately 25 percent less for electricity than neighboring utility Pacific Gas and Electric.

ADC's Seese says that the savings from the lower rate are passed on to customers by reducing the cooling charge that they normally pay from 50 to 35 percent.

ADC is also acting green by recycling the building that was at the site, which is located on a former Air Force base. Seese says 95 percent of the building has been recycled, with much of it going back into the new data center, which is expected to be operational by September, 2009.