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Data Center Design and Operations

N

N is the base amount of capacity or equipment needed to support the design load. Redundancy expressions like N+1 and 2N only make sense after defining the load, component boundary, operating mode, and failure scenario.

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Substation

A substation is a facility that switches, protects, transforms, meters, and controls power flows between grid elements or to a customer. For data center development, substation feasibility includes land, equipment, utility ownership, interconnection, transformer capacity, relay design, and schedule.

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eGRID

EPA's eGRID is a database of electric generation and emissions attributes by grid region and plant. It is useful for estimating location-based emissions, but users should understand reporting year, regional boundary, and market-based procurement differences.

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Evaporative cooling

Evaporative cooling improves heat rejection by using water evaporation. It can reduce energy consumption but increases water use and may create local concerns in water-constrained markets.

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