Data Centers and Mission Critical
Engineering resilient infrastructure where uptime, efficiency, and scalability are non-negotiable.
Shumate Engineering designs mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems for facilities where performance and reliability are paramount. Our mission-critical expertise spans power distribution, cooling strategies, redundancy planning, and scalable infrastructure solutions tailored to evolving operational demands. We understand the complexities of uptime requirements, capacity forecasting, and energy efficiency — delivering systems that perform today while supporting future growth. Every design decision is grounded in technical rigor, real-world constructability, and long-term operational success.
H5 Beaumeade
Ashburn, VA
Project Details
Client
H5 Data Centers
Architect
V Squared Workshop
Schedule
2023 – 2026
Size
255,000 sq. ft.
Critical IT Load
Design Features
Shumate developed and executed new designs for two different sets of client requirements, performing numerous concept studies and modeling services to support the client lease negotiations. Among the unique features of Shumate’s design are the following:
- (24) 620-ton air cooled chillers connected in a distributed hydronic loop, with N+3 redundancy.
- Chilled water fan-walls with N+4 redundancy.
- Unique electrical typology to coordinate with phased electrical utility power delivery. Typical floors include 7+1 with reserve block electrical typology with swing bus for UPS and generators.
- Three medium voltage services from the utility designed to provide nominal 2+1 redundancy.
- Extensive interior CFD modeling.
Undisclosed Data Center
Upstate New York
Project Details
Client
Undisclosed
Architect
Kondra & Jaquin/SAI-JV
Schedule
2022 – 2025
Size
1,000 sq. ft.
Critical IT Load
2 MW
Design Features
Shumate is undertaking HVAC load calculations to verify the quantity and capacity of cooling units in each space, in compliance with the requirements for 2N redundancy of the cooling units for each room. Additional deliverables include floor plans showing HVAC equipment layout, piping distribution, humidity and pressure control systems. Other Shumate design features include:
- Replacement of existing HVAC infrastructure within the Mission Critical data center.
- Combination of in-row coolers and perimeter vertical downflow CRAH units served from the building chilled water distribution.
- Hot aisle containment systems with pressure and
temperature control sensors.
Quantum Park
Ashburn, VA
Project Details
Client
American Real Estate Partners
Architect
The M Group Architects
Schedule
2023 – 2026
Size
120,000 sq. ft.
Critical IT Load
20 MW
Design Features
Shumate’s design will de-couple the existing office buildings from the
campus distribution and renovate for new data hall programming
on each floor. New infrastructure for critical IT loads (HVAC and
Power) will be independent of all existing campus systems.
Among the unique features of our design are the following:
- Conversion of a preexisting office building into a data
center. - 20MW of IT load, 30MW total available from nearby
utilities. - Rotary UPS in N+1 configuration in a remote
electrical infrastructure yard. - Air-cooled chillers in N+1 configuration.
Smithsonian Data Center
Herndon, VA
Project Details
Client
Smithsonian Institution
Architect
SEG, Inc.
Schedule
2020 – 2023
Size
10,000 sq. ft.
Critical IT Load
1.5 MW
Design Features
Shumate’s design concept was predicated on converting the facility from an N+1 topology to a 2N topology with a minimal addition of equipment to service the 93 compute nodes of this facility (generating approximately 39 TB of RAM). Other Shumate design features include:
- Existing UPSs were paralleled and a second UPS system was specified to achieve 2N UPS topology
- Reprogramming of the two generators, originally paralleled, in order to split them apart and thereby complete the 2N topology.
Project Aston
Montreal, QC
Project Details
Shumate Engineering served as the Subject Matter Expert for mission critical MEP engineering design for Project Aston, a campus featuring three data centers situated on 10 acres of land in the heart of Montreal. Designed to accommodate Tier III+ standards and boasting at full capacity a Power Utilization Efficiency of 1.2, this facility derives nearly 100 percent of its power from hydroelectric sources, thereby reducing its carbon footprint considerably.
Client
Vantage Data Centers
Architect
Menkes Schooner Dagenais Letourneux
Schedule
2020 – 2022
Size
320,000 sq. ft.
Critical IT Load
48 MW
Design Features
In addition to actively participating with the Vantage team and providing design reviews, Shumate actively maintained a “Design Issue Log” maintained on the project website. Furthermore, the Shumate team shared the engineering judgment that the volume of air required to cool the data center was close to exceeding the capacity of the building’s volume to deliver the cooling to the client’s temperature requirements. Other notable features include:
- N+1 redundancy across all mechanical systems.
- Hot aisle/cold aisle air containment for optimal airflow (which corresponds well to the colder winter climate in Montreal).
- Design featuring two 25kV feeders and dedicated 120Kv substation.
- A robust energy efficient UPS and generator configuration with no single point of failure.
