Hey all,

I'm working on a LEED energy model for an office building that has a couple standard sized data rooms for server storage. They will be served by a couple air cooled Liebert units. I started inputting information about the units in the proposed design model and requested EER information from our vendor. The EER value was provided but also pointed me towards ASHRAE 90.1-2007 Section 2.3 as the reason why EER values aren't typically provided for these types of units (he claims the cooling of the server rooms would be considered process cooling):

ASHRAE 90.1-2007 Section 2.3 - The provisions of this standard do not apply to:

a. Single-family houses, multi-family structures of three stories or fewer above grade, manufactured houses (mobile homes), and manufactured houses (modular)

b. Buildings that do not use either electricity or fossil fuel, or

c. Equipment and portions of building systems that use energy primarily to provide for industrial, manufacturing, or commercial processes.

I've typically model the scheduled units on the proposed design model and System Type 3 or 4 on baseline model. However, if the above Section 2.3 applies, should we be modeling the systems that serve IT rooms in an office building as "process energy" and be equal?

William Mak, LEED AP BD+C