Uncovering the Benefits of Multi-Story Data Centers in the Digital Age

Many people imagine data centres as a low-rise building that takes up a lot of space. However, in the future, data centres may have a different appearance. Multi-story data centres are becoming a possibility, but they present some challenges that make them unsuitable in some cases.

To save money on land, data centre operators can build multi-storey data centres. The cost of acquiring the real estate required to build a data centre has risen substantially due to a 27% increase in land costs in the United States since 2020.

Multi-storey data centres have multiple advantages, including their potential to promote sustainability. By minimising the amount of natural land lost to development, these multi-level facilities can help preserve the environment. Moreover, they can enhance the efficiency of cooling systems by reducing the ratio between server room space and building surface exposed to direct sunlight.

Multi-storey data centres present unique challenges, particularly with regard to building design requirements. To allow for the circulation of cool air and running cables under servers, most data centres make use of specialised floor designs. Furthermore, data centre floors must be strong enough to support the considerable weight of IT equipment. As a result, construction techniques that are adequate for standard office buildings may not be appropriate for data centres.

Determining whether a multi-storey data centre is the right choice for you depends on a few factors, including the location. If you’re constructing a facility in an area where land prices are low, and renewable energy is easily accessible, investing in a multi-story data centre may not be as financially or practically beneficial as it would be in other locations.

It is expected that there will be a rise in multi-story data centre facilities in areas where development is already dense, which increases land costs, and in situations where maximizing data centre operations is a business priority. However, it is unlikely that the majority of data centres will have more than one level soon, but we may start seeing more multi-story facilities outside of densely populated urban centres where they were traditionally located.