power plant

Operational readiness

3.) Operational readiness

30 - 40%

of total energy consumption in data centers can be attributed to cooling systems. In legacy builds this figure can exceed 40%.⁴

Power, cooling, and critical systems

With redundant power and complex cooling systems to meet both today’s demands and tomorrow’s AI workloads, data centers can maintain continuity under evolving conditions.

 

 


Here’s what to consider:

  • Apply a resilient design philosophy such as N+1 across all critical systems, including power, cooling, building management, and data transfer infrastructure. This ensures system failure or the need for maintenance do not compromise uptime.
  • Choose properly designed cooling systems that meet the needs of data center operation profiles.
  • Building Management Systems (BMS) must be integrated with HVAC to help maintain optimal environmental conditions.
  • Institute a regular preventative maintenance program for buildings and equipment. Prolonging the life of valuable equipment and preventing unanticipated breakdowns can help avoid both replacement costs and business interruption.
  • Power and cooling solutions are evolving to keep up with the demands of AI workloads. Make sure that the introduction of cutting-edge power or cooling solutions has been taken into consideration in the design of detection and protection systems for the site.

Causes of data center outages graph

4 Addison HVAC Whitepaper on Optimizing Cooling Efficiency, December 2025
5 Uptime Institute, “Annual outage analysis 2025”